The Road Paved with Good Intentions
by Computer Guy
Summary: Air Force and SGC Captain Glenn Sharp has been “displaced” in time and the Stargate universe is a very different place. Special guest star beginning in chapter five.
1. Desolation Pt 1

Content Warning: Violence  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Captain Glenn Sharp and all other SGC personnel based off of "Stargate: The Next Generation" role play game. This is my first fanfic, so critiques and criticism are welcome. It's the only way I'll learn. For more background information, read "In Training" by innocent choir girl and Sarge  
  
DESOLATION, PT. 1  
  
****P9T-573 (September 27, 2002)****  
  
Captain Glenn Sharp looked up into the tormented and dark sky. His team, Captain Riley Fox, Dr. Chrislyn Star, Lt. Danika Scott and Lt. Chandra Sanders came through the gate right behind him.  
  
"Such a happy planet," Riley said sarcastically as she looked up.  
  
"Yeah.... Lovely," Sharp chimed in. Just then, a large bolt of lightning struck the gate.  
  
"Ummmm, scary lightning," exclaimed Chrislyn.  
  
"Maybe we should move," offered Sharp.  
  
"Good idea," agreed Chandra.  
  
"This way," Sharp pointed. "The readings we got from the MALP were due east."  
  
"Sir, I'm going to begin taking some samples," Danika offered as excitedly as any botonist would be about the local plant life. Sharp never did understand what was so interesting about simple plants. But then he did have his interests that no one else understood. For instance, as a direct consequence of his recent promotion to Captain, he was able to request to lead this mission. The briefing had caught his eye for some reason. A large energy field that seemed to have no source. Most likely it was natural, but you can never take chances by assuming such things and it never hurt to check things out.  
  
"Have at it, Lieutanent," Sharp replied to the eager Scott.  
  
"By the way," Riley interjected. "the storms are due to all the electromagnetic particles in the atmosphere... if anyone cares.  
  
"I care, just as long as you don't get sciency on me," Sharp said as seriously as he could.  
  
"Sciency is not a word," Riley giggled.  
  
Sharp just glared at her. Yes, she was smart. It one of the things Sharp loved about her, but sometimes it was damned annoying.  
  
"Well, it COULD be," Chrislyn defended him. That was something that still managed to catch Sharp off guard despite them being on good terms for a little while now. Sure there was tension between them still, but they had one thing in common now, they both cared about Riley and the was the basis for putting aside any differences they might have had.  
  
"But alas, it is not," Riley shot back. Sharp could only shake his head and continue east toward the increasingly strange readings.  
  
"You'll just have to write a dictionary, Glenn," Chrislyn continued.  
  
"Maybe I should," Sharp smiled. The electromagnetics now were strong enough to make their hair stand on end... literally. "I knew I should have used more hairspray!"  
  
"I feel all tinglely," Danika observed.  
  
"The electromagnetic readings are getting stronger," Riley said, looking at her scanner.  
  
"Reading a source?" Sharp asked.  
  
"No they're all over the place."  
  
"We need to find out if this is natural or camoflauge for something else. Any theories?"  
  
"I'm not sure, but it may have something to do with the gate."  
  
"What about the gate?"  
  
"Well, this is just a theory, but it seems like the electromagnetic particles that are emitted from the gate everytime it's activated are storing up in the atmosphere."  
  
"How would something like that happen?" Sharp asked, not even sure he would understand the answer.  
  
"It wouldn't happen...well, at least not on Earth. This planet could have some strange properties in it's atmosphere that causes all the particles to gather. Like I said, it's only a theory."  
  
"Well, theories are all..." but Sharp was cut off by a sudden, large bolt of lightning striking several hundred feet away. All of them watched intently as the bolt produced an unusual wave of some sort. "Ok, what the hell is that?"  
  
"I don't know," Riley said concerned.  
  
"Can we go home now?" Chrislyn asked.  
  
"I'm with Chris!" Chandra agreed.  
  
"I'm gonna take a look. Stay here." Sharp began to move toward the wave with his scanner.  
  
"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Riley warned.  
  
"Why look? Let's just go home!" Chrislyn added.  
  
"Its our mission," Sharp said as he moved closer.  
  
"But Glenn..." Riley called after him.  
  
"There's some sort of field around it," Sharp said ignoring everything else.  
  
"Yeah I see it," Riley said, looking at her scanner. Glenn continued until he was inside the field surrounding the wave. In an instant, he was surrounded by images he recognized from three years ago. At first he was just confused, but what he saw next he could not believe. "Jenn?" It couldn't be her. She died three years ago. "Jennifer?" Completely absorbed by the images, Sharp moved closer to the wave. He vaguly heard a commotion behind him and yelled back to reassure them. "Its Jennifer! I can help her!" Then in horror, he watched as she events of her death began to unfold before his eyes. "Jennifer! Wait!!!" Out of blind fear, Sharp ran headlong toward her. "JENNIFER! NO!!" Unaware of what he was doing, Sharp ran right into the wave. Pain surged through his body as the wave felt like it was ripping him apart. Blinding pain now engulf his mind as well and then the light faded.  
  
****P9T-573 (Date Unknown)****  
  
"Jennifer......"  
  
Slowly Sharp regained consciousness, his mind and body still reeling from his experience. The images of his deceased fiance had faded but their effect would last for some time. The storms seemed distant now and the wave was gone. Carefully coming to his feet, he attempted to get his bearings and looked around for the rest of his team. Seeing no one, he tried his radio.  
  
"Captain Fox, this is Sharp, come in." No response. "This is Captain Sharp, come in, Captain Fox." Still nothing. "Lt. Scott, Lt. Sanders, come in." But all Sharp heard was static. "They better not have left without me," Sharp said not amused. Good thing he remembered his GDO.  
  
Investigating the area, he say no sign of footprints or any indication of where they might be. "Okay guys, very funny. You can come out now. You've had you're fun!" No answer. Okay now Sharp was worried. It wasn't like them to out of contact for so long. With a renewed sense of urgency, he scoured the area looking of any trace of his lost comrades. After over an hour of searching, Sharp saw a tower of smoke in the distance. "That got to be them," Sharp thought. "This planet is supposed to be uninhabited." He came upon the outskirts of a camp several minutes later, but instead of his team, he found what looked like a small militia. Sharp started to approach the camp when one of the young men saw him.  
  
"SGC! SGC! Come quick! The SGC has come!" the man yelled. The entire camp, men, women and children, swarmed like locusts around Sharp, all staring in awe. After a few moments, an older man approached Sharp.  
  
"You wear the uniform of the SGC. Are you one of them, or do I have to kill you where you stand?" the older man asked.  
  
Sharp, still not quite sure what was going on, stumbled over his words. "Uh... yes... I'm uh... with the SGC." Sharp finally got over the initial shock. "Now wait a minute? How do you know about the SGC?"  
  
"I ask the questions here," the older man answered. "Who are you and where have you come from?"  
  
"Captain Glenn Sharp, SG-12, Stargate Command. I'm from the planet earth. And just who the hell are you?"  
  
The older man motioned for some of his men to take Sharp's weapons. Sharp resisted but several others, including the older man drew guns of their own.  
  
"You're a liar!" the older man continued, ignoring Sharp's question. The man stepped up and into Sharp's face, pointing the gun underneath his chin. "Now, try again. And this time, the right answer or I put you in the ground."  
  
Sharp carefully reaches to his neck and rips off his dog tags. And offers them to the older man. The man takes them and looks them over. "Where did you get these? You take 'em off some corpse you found?"  
  
"No they're mine. Now, are you gonna start answering my questions or do I have to put YOU in the ground?" Sharp answered defiantly.  
  
The older man just laughed. "I seem to be the one holding the gun," he said with a snug smile and chuckle. In a flash, Sharp disarmed the man and in a single motion took him as a shield and pointed the gun at this head.  
  
"Tell them to drop their weapons," Sharp demanded.  
  
The older man smiled. "They would shoot us both and not think twice about it. Those are my orders. You impress me, Sharp. Put down the gun and we'll talk."  
  
"Not a chance. You tell them to put down their guns, then we talk."  
  
"Look, Sharp, you have two choices. First, you can shoot me and then they will most definitely shoot you, or you can drop the weapon and take your chances that I'm telling the truth. Your decision."  
  
Sharp looked around the crowd and realized that the older man was right. Slowly, Sharp dropped the gun and tossed it to the ground. The older man slipped from Sharp's grasp and backed away.  
  
"You know, Sharp," he started, "I might have bought that whole SGC charade if you hadn't tried to feed me that line about earth."  
  
"What the hell are you talking about? And for the last time, who the hell are you people?" Sharp demanded.  
  
"The name is Harris. Robert Harris. We're human resistors to the Maldorian occupation of our galaxy. And as ever human knows, the earth has been a dead world for more than a decade."  
  
For a while, all Sharp could do was laugh. "Try telling that to the six billion people living there!"  
  
Harris' face turned angry. "Is this some kind of sick joke to you??! My wife and kids were on earth when we lost contact! And no one who's been to earth since has returned. Now you better tell me who you really are or I am through talking to you!" Harris raised he gun to Sharp again and the rest of the crowd that was armed did the same.  
  
Sharp stopped laughing. "Alright, Harris. You win. You want me to take you to earth? I was headed back there anyway to organize a search party for my team."  
  
"You mean there are more of you here?" Harris asked, more than a little concerned.  
  
"Yes, I came here with a team of five and now they are missing."  
  
Harris motioned to four of the younger men in the crowd. "Luke, Tim, Samuel, John. I want you find this guy's friends and bring them here. I don't want them giving away our position."  
  
"You can't be serious," Sharp smirked. "Like that fire over there DOSEN'T give away your position? How do you think I found you?"  
  
"You're lucky I don't send you and your friends to the afterlife," Harris retorted. "I still might. Sarah, show our guest where he'll stay and get him something to eat." A young girl no older than 16 moved toward Sharp and took his hand.  
  
"I don't have time for this! I have to find my team!" argued Sharp.  
  
Harris lowered the gun and glared at Sharp, "You don't have a choice! Now my men will find your team and then we'll decide what to do with you."  
  
Once again, Sharp realized Harris was right. He didn't have a choice. If had any hope of finding Riley and the others, he had to do as Harris said. Sarah led Sharp further into the camp and finally to an empty tent. "You can stay here," she said timidly. "I will bring you something to eat."  
  
"Wait!" Sharp called as turned to leave. Sarah stopped and slowly turned around with a shy look on her face. "Your name is Sarah right?" Sarah nodded. "Come here, I won't hurt you. I just want to ask you some questions." Sarah lowered her head and looked away from Sharp. "Sarah, honest, I just want to talk to you."  
  
"But Robert said...." she started, looking back up at Sharp.  
  
"Don't worry about him. Besides, I'm not hungry anyway. Come on. Its okay." Sharp motions for Sarah to sit across from him. Sarah reluctantly complies and sits as does Sharp.  
  
"What do you want to know?" she asked, still not comfortable.  
  
"First of all, how long have you been on this planet? We thought this planet was uninhabited."  
  
"I don't remember coming here. I'm told Robert brought us here when I was very young after our colony was destroyed by the Maldorians."  
  
"Okay, again with these Maldorians. Who are these guys?" Sarah didn't quite know what to say. Everyone knew about the Maldorians. "Is there something wrong, Sarah?"  
  
"No, it justs that, if you do not know about the Maldorians.... I do not see how that is possible for someone who is human."  
  
"Well I'm definitely human, at least last time I checked," trying to crack a joke. Sarah looked away again, becoming even more uncomfortable. "Hey, I'm sorry, Sarah. I shouldn't be cracking jokes about that."  
  
Sarah looked at him again with curiosity in her eyes. "Are you really from earth?"  
  
"Yes I really am. And I promise you, when I get back, I'll talk to my superiors about helping your people against these Maldorians."  
  
Sarah smiled. "Joseph said you would come to help us.... well not you exactly but the SGC," Sarah said with a glow.  
  
"Who's Joseph? Your boyfriend?" Sharp asked with a smile.  
  
Sarah's smile and glow quickly faded. "He was my husband. He was killed fighting the Maldorians over 3 months ago."  
  
"Husband?!" Sharp blurted out, quite surprised. "But you're like 16."  
  
"I was married a bit older than some of the other women in our camp. I fear now I am too old to marry again."  
  
"Older??!! How young were you when you were married?"  
  
"I was married last year on my fifteenth birthday. How old were you when you were married?"  
  
"I'm twenty-eight and I've never married."  
  
Now it was Sarah's turn to be shocked. "You're twenty-eight!!?? People who live that long are eligible to become elders in our camp."  
  
"Hold on a second here! I found two grey hairs! That's it!" Sharp joked. Sarah smiled. "Now there, that's what I like to see. You should do more of that. I bet spirits would be a lot higher if you did." Now Sarah was blushing.  
  
"So why didn't you marry anyone?" she asked trying to change the subject.  
  
"I almost did once.... but she died," he responded soberly. Sharp had thought he was over Jennifer's death, but after the afternoon's events, it was obvious he wasn't. He wondered how Riley felt about him chasing Jenn's image so recklessly. It was stupid he knew and he never wanted to hurt Riley. He had to find her and make things right.  
  
"And you could find no one else?" Sarah asked, trying to shift the focus sensing Sharp did not want to continue.  
  
"For a long time I was so angry, I didn't want to. I felt it would be betraying my first love, but one day I met this girl," Sharp smiled widely. "I thought for the longest time we were just friends, but one day we realized, we loved each other."  
  
"But you have not married her?"  
  
"I don't think we're ready for that yet. There is still a lot we don't know about each other and right now we're enjoying discovering some of those things."  
  
"You are lucky, Captain Sharp."  
  
"Please, call me Glenn. And I'm sure, a girl as pretty as you will find someone." Sarah blushed again.  
  
The moment was abruptly ended when Harris entered the tent. "Sarah! What are you doing here? Christine has been looking for you all over the place! Go help her clean up dinner."  
  
"Yes, Robert." Sarah quickly exited the tent, leaving Sharp with Harris.  
  
"I'm not sure what to make of you, Sharp. We can't find any trace of your 'team' anywhere, which leads me to believe you were lying about them too. Now I want some answers!"  
  
"They must have gone back to earth. Or they were taken somewhere. Either way I don't like it. I have to get back to earth."  
  
"You're not going anywhere. I don't trust you and I'm not about to let you out of my sight!"  
  
"Harris, I am tired of you dictating terms to me. Now my team is missing and I'm going to find them."  
  
"You try to leave this camp and you're a dead man."  
  
"Then you're looking at a dead man walking." And with that, Sharp walked out of the tent defiantly, daring Harris to stop him.  
  
Harris had been prepared to kill Sharp, but something inside him convinced him to give Sharp this one chance. He saw something in Sharp he hadn't seen in a long time. Maybe it was a determination that he had lost so many years ago, and maybe it was naivety. Either way, Harris felt the urge to take a chance with this stranger. "Alright, Sharp. But some of my men and I are coming with you."  
  
Sharp stopped a few feet past Harris. "Be ready with your men ready in 10 minutes. I'll wait for you by the gate." Sharp then continued to the gate in silence. He walked for close to an hour, giving him plenty of time to think about his actions. Maybe too much time. By the time he reached the gate, all he could think about was how stupid he had been and how he had lost track of his entire team. Luckily for Sharp, Harris and four of his men broke up the pity party five minutes later.  
  
"These are four of my best men," Harris started and pointed to each as he introduced them. "Luke Corra, John Davenport, Paul Grissom and Chris Stewert." Sharp curtly nodded and turned to the DHD, hoping that when he stepped onto that ramp, Riley, Chrislyn and the rest of his team would be laughing over a practical joke. He dialed earth and watched the gate explode to life. He turned to see the awe in the eyes of Harris' 'men' and it managed to bring a small smile. He then stepped up to transmit the IDC.  
  
"What's that you're doing?" Harris asked.  
  
"We have a defensive device on our gate called an iris. Only authorized personnel can open it with one of these. Its called a GDO." Sharp finished punching in the code and stepped up to the gate. Harris and his men didn't move. "You coming or not?" And with that, Sharp stepped through. Moments later, Harris led his men through the gate, still a bit apprehensive about what awaited them on the other side.  
  
But it was Sharp who should have been afraid.  
  
Immediately upon exiting the gate, Sharp looked for General Oberon and his team, but the images that would burned in his mind would be vastly different. Instead of his friends, he was met with bleached bones. The sounds of computers and military hustle and bustle was replaced by an overwhelming silence.  
  
And for the next few moments like several of the years before those moments, silence ruled the SGC.  
  
****To Be Continued in Desolation Pt. 2**** 


	2. Desolation Pt 2

Content warning: Mild Language and violence  
  
Desolation, Pt. 2  
  
Earth (Unknown Date)  
  
Sharp stood in silence with a blank stare for what seemed like decades. And for all intents and purposes, he had. It was obvious from the stench and decay in the air that no living thing had set foot there in years. Well, maybe they had, but they didn't stay alive very long. Harris and the others exited the gate behind Sharp and took a look for themselves.  
  
"Where are we?" asked one of the young men with Harris.  
  
"The SGC. Or what's left of it anyway," answered Sharp in a pained tone.  
  
Harris moved next to Sharp. "I told you, Sharp. This place hasn't seen a living soul in years. Can we go now?"  
  
"No. I want to know what happened here. And I'm not leaving until I find out," Sharp said with a determined look and then proceeded to move down the ramp.  
  
Harris called after him. "Where are you going? There is nothing left here. Everyone's dead. What do you expect to find here?"  
  
Sharp turned toward Harris. "I expect to find the truth. Less than seven hours ago I was in this very room preparing for a mission to your planet. Now something is very wrong here and I am going to find out what it is and fix it."  
  
"And what if you can't fix it?"  
  
"Then I'll do the next best thing. Send the bastards that did this straight to hell." Sharp moved to dig the debris out of the way of the exit.  
  
"Fine, you go on your little crusade. But we're not sticking around. Now if you would be so kind as to point out the DHD."  
  
"There isn't one," Sharp answered without stopping.  
  
"What?! Then how the hell do we get back?!"  
  
"Well, if you can get power to the gate, you can dial it manually. Until then, you're stuck with me."  
  
Harris ran down the ramp in a mad rage. Grabbing Sharp, he picked him up off the floor and threw him against the wall. "You son of a bitch! You stranded us all here in this damn tin can!"  
  
"Get a hold of yourself, Harris! I can get you and your people back, but you have to calm down!"  
  
Harris put Sharp down and composed himself. "How do you plan on doing that? I don't think the local power plant is exactly functional."  
  
"Did you notice that the lights are on? What do you think is powering them? So, Harris, I have a couple ideas actually, but all of them involve us getting to the rest of the base and that would go a lot faster if you and your men would help." Harris just stood there scowling at Sharp. "Look, you're stuck here until I can power up that gate. The faster I get what I want, the faster you get home."  
  
Disgusted, Harris motioned to the young men behind him. "Chris, Luke, help him. John, I want you and Paul to help me look for a way to power the gate from here." The four men immediately obeyed. Harris stepped back to assist the two young men who began moving debris around the gate. The two known as Luke Corra and Chris Stewart approached Sharp.  
  
"Why don't you two start over there," Sharp said as he motioned to a large pile of debris to his left. The young men slowly moved to do as he asked. After several minutes, Sharp broke the silence between. "So how old are you two?" The two looked up but didn't answer. "You know, I'm not your enemy, despite what Harris says. By helping me, you help yourselves."  
  
"And why should we believe you?" Corra asked. "Robert has looked out for us as long as we can remember. We trust him. You, we've just met."  
  
"That's a good question. And to be honest, I don't have a good answer. All I can do is tell you that I don't mean you or your people any harm. I'm just trying to figure out what happened to my friends and help my people."  
  
"Well, you just make sure saving your people doesn't include selling out mine," Corra warned and then moved to the other side of the debris pile.  
  
"I apologize for Luke, Captain," Stewart said softly. "He's lost a lot of loved ones to the Maldorians and he comes off mean, but he's not a bad guy once you get to know him."  
  
"I was like him once," Sharp said understanding. "You guys close?"  
  
"I've known him since we were kids."  
  
Sharp laughed. "In my eyes you still are kids!" Then Sharp sobered a bit. "But if that's true, here's a tip. Don't let him self destruct. I see the fire in his eyes, but its the fire that consumes people. It'll consume him and those around him."  
  
"Robert says that his fire makes him a hero."  
  
"Heroes don't let fear control them, Chris. Luke's fear is what drives him. He's afraid he'll lose what he has left and he lets that fear lead into dangerous situations without thinking."  
  
"You don't even know Luke. How can you judge him so quickly?"  
  
Sharp looked right at Chris. "Ok, YOU know him. Tell me am I right or wrong?" Stewart was silent. "Being a hero doesn't mean going in with guns blazing every opportunity you get. And sometimes being a hero does mean you won't come back alive, but a hero makes those sacrifices only when necessary and when he does its not motivated by fear.... its motivated by love." It was then that Sharp tossed the last piece of debris blocking the door. "Well, let's see what's behind door number one."  
  
Sharp forced the door open and slowly walked through. He forced himself to hold back his emotions. He told himself that was no reason to fear what he saw, because what he saw was not... could not be real. This couldn't be his earth. An alternate dimension? A Gou'ald trick? He wished Riley was here. She could explain it. She could pretty much explain everything. He was just some computer geek turned Air Force soldier. And now he had to figure out what the hell had happened to him on his own. Lovely, thought Sharp. I am sooooooo screwed!  
  
Sharp moved through the hallways trying to picture them the way he remembered them instead of the state they were in now. Stewart and Corra followed him a few feet back inspecting the long revered home of their heroes. Seemingly on instinct, Sharp led them through the base and he somehow found himself outside of what looked like Riley and Chrislyn's old quarters. Slowly, Sharp turned the knob unable to hide the fear of what was behind the door. As he stepped inside and turned on the light, for a moment he could see their faces. Riley's smile and Chrislyn's 'what do you want now?' look. But then it was gone. In its place was a room devoid of life. Both bookcases were trashed and their contents were all over the floor. The couch and beds were torn up but intacted. What struck Sharp as odd, however, was the fact that they had left so much behind. "They must have left in a hurry," Sharp thought. Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw the light reflect off of a distinctively purple book. Leaning down to pick it up, he finally recognized it as Chrislyn's journal. Replacing one of cushions on the couch, he sat down and willed himself to open it. Most of the pages were distorted and unreadable, but finally Sharp found a portion that was legible.  
  
********  
  
... haven't heard anything from him. Riley's convinced he's dead, but of course she won't talk to me about it!  
  
With the General gone, Colonel Taylor is in charge and he says he might make all "unnecessary" personnel leave! Basically any one who's not stupid military. So not fair! I am necessary! Riley needs me, doesn't that count? I think he's just trying to get rid of me cause I keep telling everyone how much of dork he is.  
  
Oh! I finally figured out that piece of Maldorian text today! I laughed at that stupid Colonel. He thought it was some kind of battle plan, but it was....  
  
********  
  
Maldorian? That couldn't be a coincidence. Sharp couldn't make the rest out but skipped down to another portion.  
  
********  
  
...was going on about the new spaceships they are building. God! He is such a little boy with his toys! If he puts Riley on one of those things like he said, I am so going with her, no matter what he says!  
  
Oh and guess what else...  
  
********  
  
Once again Sharp couldn't figure out what the next part said. He took a deep breath and was about to close the book when he noticed the date on the next entry.... June 21, 2007. 2007??!! It was then that something inside of Sharp snapped. There was no way he was on that planet for 5 years! Someone wanted him to think that had his world had been destroyed. That all his friends were dead. That was something Sharp just couldn't accept.  
  
Slamming the book shut, Sharp stormed out the door. With each step, Sharp felt more and more like he was going to explode. Corra saw him coming and stepped in his way to confront him. Sharp was so angry, he grabbed him by the collar and got right in his face. "Where's Harris?" He asked with a snarl and a look that quite possibly could have killed.  
  
Corra, caught totally off guard, blurted out, "Some lab! D-d-down the hall..."  
  
Sharp tossed him aside and took his pistol. None of this added up and if he found out Harris was a part of it, Sharp was gonna make him regret it for the rest of his life. All thirty seconds of it. Sharp realized the only lab on this level was Riley's. He marched down the hall and upon reaching the lab, threw the door open. Harris was rummaging through some of the projects Riley had left behind, obviously looking for something to get the gate back up and running. With Harris distracted, Sharp was able walk behind him without being seen. Grabbing him by his scalp, Sharp slammed him face down on the workbench and pointed the gun at his head.  
  
"Alright, Harris. I'm done playing this little game. Who set all this up?" Sharp practically spat the words at him, his face red with anger.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about. What the hell has gotten into you?"  
  
"Wrong answer!" Sharp moved his free hand to around Harris' neck. "Did you think all this could fool me? Who are you working for? The Goa'uld? What have you done with my team? Where are we?"  
  
Harris struggled to breathe. "You've lost it, Sharp. The Gou'ald are long gone. The ones the Maldorians didn't kill, left this part of the universe years ago." Sharp had just about had enough when two of Harris' men came in to see about the commotion.  
  
"Robert!" one of them yelled, shocked at what was happening. Both men then trained their guns on Sharp. "Let him, go. NOW!" he demanded.  
  
"Paul," Harris gasped, "he's nuts, take him out!" Grissom was about to oblige his mentor, when Stewart rushed into the room.  
  
"No! Wait!" Stewart exclaimed desperately. "There's no need for this!" Stewart moved in front of Sharp, blocking the sight line of Grissom and Davenport.  
  
"Get out of the way, Chris!" Davenport demanded.  
  
"He's flipped! We gotta take him out!" Grissom yelled.  
  
"No one is leaving this planet until I get some answers!" threatened Sharp.  
  
"Captain, that is unnecessary, we will answer all your questions the best we can. Please! If we all calm down, we can settle this," Stewart pleaded. None of the three moved. "Think about it! We need each other! Paul, it will take a lot longer to get back to our planet without the Captain. And Captain, obviously you have questions about what happened here. We can help you answer those! If we work together, we both get what we want."  
  
Sharp looked down at Harris. "Seems like we keep getting in this situation, Harris. At each other's throats. The kid's right though. We kill each other, neither of us gets what we want. Your call, Harris."  
  
Harris' was still struggling to breathe even as Sharp lessened his grip, but still horsely gave his response, "Put 'em down, boys."  
  
Davenport and Grissom hesitated, but then reluctantly lowered their pistols. Sharp followed by letting go of Harris' neck, putting the pistol in his holster. Harris walked over and joined Grissom and Davenport. Just then, Corra stumbled in, holding the back of his head where he had hit it when Sharp tossed him.  
  
"Alright, start talking," Sharp ordered.  
  
"Not so fast, Sharp," Harris countered. "How do we know you'll help us get back after we tell you what you want to know?"  
  
"You have my word as an Air Force officer. You tell me what I want to know, I'll reroute the power from the backup generator and you can go home."  
  
"Not good enough," Harris said, staring Sharp down, trying to read his intentions.  
  
"Its all I got, and until I know exactly what happened here, no one is leaving."  
  
Harris let out a long sigh and nodded his head. "Alright. Paul, Luke, John, search the base for supplies that we can take back with us. Stewart, you stay here with me."  
  
"You sure, Robert?" Davenport asked, keeping one eye on Sharp.  
  
"We'll be fine, John. Just do it," Harris said, also eying Sharp. Paul and the others gave Sharp one last glare before complying. Exiting the room, each of them took a different route through the base. "What do you want to know?"  
  
Sharp looked directly at Harris and swallowed hard. He suddenly wasn't sure he wanted the answers to the question he was about to ask, but if he ever wanted to see his team again, he had to figure out what was happening. "Let's get down to business. You said earth has been a dead world for over a decade. According to you, how did that happen?"  
  
Harris glanced at Stewart before answering. "Most of earth was devastated from space by Maldorian destroyers. The attack was so quick and so sudden, almost all of earth's population was killed in the initial attack. The rest went underground, but the Maldorians didn't stop there. It wasn't enough to defeat us, they wanted to exterminate us." Harris' face turned sour. "They used our own people to hunt the rest down and kill them."  
  
Sharp just sat there with a look of frustration and confusion. "Ok, I just went from a few questions to like ten thousand and I have no clue where to begin!" Sharp took a deep breath. "I suppose the next thing you're gonna tell me is that this all took place during the five years I was gone, right?"  
  
Now it was Harris' and Stewart's turn to be confused as they looked at each other. "Five years you were gone?" Stewart asked.  
  
Sharp pulled out the Chrislyn's journal and handed it to Stewart. "I was looking through that for some answers. I wasn't able to get much but I was able to read a date, June 21, 2007. Now that is almost five years after I left for the mission on your planet."  
  
Harris looked down at the journal and then back to Sharp with a look of reluctance and carefully asked his next question. "So... you left for our planet in 2002?"  
  
"Yes, September of 2002." Sharp smiles and in a skeptic voice asked, "So tell me, Harris, what year is it now? 2007? 2008?"  
  
"Sharp... we can't be exactly sure, it was hard to keep track of the days during the war, but the best we can tell... its February of 2025."  
  
Sharp burst out laughing. "You expect me to believe that?"  
  
Harris' look faded from reluctance to frustration. "Look around you, Sharp. How else can you explain what you see with your own eyes?"  
  
Sharp stopped laughing and his face became deadly serious. He paced back and forth as he spoke. "How do I explain it? Well let's see, this could be an alternate dimension. Several earths in alternate realities have been overcome by the Goa'uld or other circumstances. This could be one of them. This could also be a Goa'uld trick, s-s-something to get me to reveal how to deactivate the iris or interrogate me for weaknesses in our defenses. Hell! This could all be a dream. I could be in the SGC right now, sleeping off the effects of being caught in that wave! It could..."  
  
Upon hearing him mention the wave, Stewart immediately became excited and interrupted him, "Did you say wave? As in you saw a wave formed from a bolt of lightning?"  
  
"Yes, we were sent to investigate the phenomenon that creates the energy field on your planet. We encountered a large storm and then the wave formed just like you said." Sharp stopped pacing and leaned against the workbench. He seemed to be staring off into space as he carefully recounted the rest of the mission. "I went out to investigate. Riley... uh... Captain Fox and the others warned me not to go but I wasn't about to leave without finding out what it was. The next thing I knew, I was laying unconscious on the ground and my team was gone."  
  
"We lost a few of our camp to the storms. I have always wondered where they went, but they never reappeared so all I could do was theorize," Stewart said in awe. "The wave must be a time inversion wave. It pulled you from your time into ours."  
  
"Chris is our resident egghead," Harris added.  
  
"How do you know that? That's just one of a multitude of possibilities!" Sharp yelled back.  
  
"Captain, think about the options for a minute. You said this could be an alternate dimension, which would mean that it is the year 2002 in that dimension. Look around, Captain. This damage was done a long time ago. Would any of the people you know be working here when this base was destroyed?" Stewart argued.  
  
"No," Sharp admitted.  
  
"As for a Goa'uld trick, we have asked for no information and all we want is to go back to our planet. We want nothing from you other than a trip home," continued Stewart.  
  
"All this is got to be a nightmare..." Sharp said with his eyes closed, trying to wake up.  
  
"Captain, do you really believe this is just a dream?" asked Stewart in a skeptical voice.  
  
"It has to be! I refuse to believe that everything I've worked for is doomed to failure!" Sharp's frustrations were now boiling over. He wanted to do something, anything to make all this go away. He was so upset, he grabbed a nearby piece of equipment and threw it across the room and then walked back into one of the corners. He stood for a moment and took a deep breath. He may not be able to figure out a way to make all of this go away, but he could get rid of the messengers. Sharp turned back toward them. "You know what? You kept your part of the deal. Its time for you to go home."  
  
"I don't understand. What about you, Captain?" Stewart asked, confused.  
  
"Don't worry about me. Like I said, I'm here to find out what happened here and to fix it, but there's no reason to keep you here," Sharp replied, seemingly preoccupied with something. He moved toward the door. "Follow me. I'll help you with the backup generator and you can get out of here" As they left the lab, Davenport and the others were just returning.  
  
"Robert, we got good news," Davenport said smiling and holding a P90. "We found the armory. Most the weapons are in good shape and there is plenty of ammo."  
  
"Nice job, John," Harris responded. "Now pack 'em up we're going..." Harris stopped himself in mid-sentence as the emergency lights went out, leaving them in darkness once again. Sharp pulled out and turned on his flashlight. "Damn it! Now how the hell are we gonna get home?"  
  
"Don't get all worked up Harris," Sharp said, trying to calm him. "I told you I had several ideas to power up the gate. I suspected the generator may not have had the juice to get the job done." Sharp walked back into the lab, hoping that Riley had left what he was looking for behind. He moved the flashlight throughout the lab until it rested on the device. Sharp was both relieved and disappointed at the same time. Relieved that he could use the device's power source to power the base, but disappointed because that meant that all the time Riley had spent working on it had gone to waste. She had never gotten it to work. He thought back to the time he foolishly asked what it did. Riley's explanation had given him a headache. Finally she plainly told him it was supposed to make things invisible. Why hadn't she just said that to begin with? Glenn smiled to himself for a moment but it didn't last long. He shoved the memories into the back of his mind and went to work removing the power source. A few minutes later he returned to where Harris and the rest stood. He then turned to Stewart and put the flashlight on the device's power source. "Do you know what this is?"  
  
Stewart's eyes couldn't believe what he saw and his face brightened. "This... this is a naquda reactor isn't it? I've heard about them but I've never seen one before."  
  
"That's exactly what it is," Sharp replied.  
  
Harris stepped in to take a look. "This is a what?"  
  
Sharp started to answer but Stewart cut him off. "A naquda reactor. Naquda is the material that makes up the stargate. Years ago they began making these at the SGC because they found that they could use naquda to release and store massive amounts of energy."  
  
"Exactly right, Chris," Sharp admonished him. "I imagine that's what they hooked up to power the base before they left. That's why the base had power for so long."  
  
Stewart looked up at Sharp. "So you've accepted our explanation of what happened?"  
  
Sharp handed the reactor to Stewart and turned down the hall toward the generator room. "Let's just say I'm taking it under advisement until I come up with a better one." Harris, Stewart and the others followed Sharp into the reactor room. Sharp looked over the device that was completely foreign to him and was obviously not a part of the SGC he left.  
  
Stewart moved closer to take a look as well. "It looks damaged. That may be why it ran out of power. It had been running on what was stored and it finally ran out."  
  
"Never mind that," Harris ordered. "Can you hook up that nattaca thing to power the base?"  
  
"Naquda, Robert, and yes I think I can." Stewart grabbed the reactor and went to work.  
  
"Sharp, we're going to load up and take some of these weapons," Harris informed, matter of factly.  
  
"Fine, whatever," Sharp replied, not even looking up. Harris, Grissom, Davenport and Corra left to do just that. Things were quiet until Stewart broke the silence.  
  
"So, you're staying here?"  
  
"For now. There are bound to be other clues here. Besides, where else would I go?"  
  
"You could come with us," Stewart replied, hoping he'd take him up on it. Sharp didn't answer and the rest of the repairs were made in silence. Within a few minutes, Sharp and Stewart had restored power to the base.  
  
"Come on, let's get you guys home," Sharp said as he got up and walked out of the room. Stewart got up and followed him silently. When they reached the gateroom, Harris and the others were just finishing bringing the weapons and ammo they wanted to take with them. "Ok, three on each side. The dialing computers are out of commission so we'll have to do this the hard way." Harris, Davenport and Corra took up the right side while Sharp, Stewart and Grissom stood on the left of the giant metal ring. Each of them took hold of the gate and began to turn it to the first symbol for their planet. A few moments later they stopped turning and the first chevron locked. All of them were tiring by the time the fifth chevron locked in the fifth symbol but they continued until the seventh symbol, the point of origin for earth, was dialed. Instantly, the wormhole opened and Harris and his men, except for Stewart, each grabbed a crate.  
  
"Let's go, Chris," Harris called to him. Stewart looked over to Sharp.  
  
Sharp looked back at Stewart. "I have my mission, you have yours." Sharp extended his hand and Stewart shook it. "You guys take care. Who knows, we might just meet up again." Stewart then grabbed a crate and one by one, all of them except Sharp stepped into the event horizon.  
  
****P9T-573 (February, 2025)****  
  
Emerging on the other side, Harris set down his crate and looked in the direction of the camp. "How many times do I have to tell them to keep the fires small?" Stewart was a lot more concerned than Harris, however.  
  
"Robert, I don't think that's a simple campfire."  
  
Understanding what Stewart meant, all five took off in a dead run toward the camp. Hoping Stewart was wrong and terrified that he was right.  
  
****To Be Continued in "Born of Fire"**** 


	3. Born of Fire

Content Warning: Mild Language and Violence  
  
Born of Fire  
  
  
  
"Welcome back, Captain," the young Lieutenant said excitedly while saluting.  
  
"Its good to be back, Collins," replied Sharp returning the salute.  
  
"I'm to escort you to the General for immediate debrief, sir."  
  
"Lead on, Lieutenant."  
  
Collins nodded and led Sharp toward the General's office. "I can't begin to tell you what the last week has been like, sir. Captain Fox led two missions looking for you and just about pulled every string she could to set up a third before you finally made it back."  
  
Sharp grinned and chuckled a bit. "Well, Riley is one of the most stubborn people I know, Lieutenant, so that doesn't surprise me. It is good to know, however, that I have people like that working beside me. It makes all the difference sometimes."  
  
"If I may speak freely, sir, we're all excited to hear how you escaped that Goa'uld trap. How did you know that it wasn't really the SGC?"  
  
"It just never made sense from the start. Besides, they tried that crap on the original SG-1 once before. If it didn't work then, why would they expect it to work now?"  
  
Collins continued to escort Sharp, but now looked up at a him a little confused. "So, let me see if I understand this correctly. The Goa'uld used some sort of field to incapacitate you and tried to make you believe you'd moved twenty-three years into the future? What were they looking for?"  
  
"I didn't stay long enough to find out for sure, but I'm almost positive it was to get a hold of SG-12's iris code."  
  
"Well you're just lucky we didn't lock that code out after the rest of you team returned. How did you know that you wouldn't end up with your molecules spattered all over the iris?"  
  
Sharp was a little surprised by Collin's direct and open dialogue, but once he considered the question, he realized that none of the answers that he could come up with, made a lot of sense. "Uh, Lieutenant, why wasn't my IDC locked out of the control computers? Isn't that standard procedure after the mission's operational window has passed?"  
  
Collins smiled and turned a slight shade of red. "Well like I said, sir, Captain Fox pulled a lot of strings. She never gave up on you. It must be nice to have someone who loves you that much."  
  
Sharp listened to Collins' explanation but continued to have a perplexed look on his face. It wasn't that he didn't believe Riley wouldn't do all the things Collins said, he just found it hard to believe she had enough clout to convince the General to expose the base like that. Sharp looked back up to Collins to continue his line of inquiry only to scared out of his skin at what he saw. Collins had been replaced by a bleached skeleton in an SGC uniform. Sharp cautiously back away, unsure of what the hell was going on.  
  
"Is there something wrong, sir?"  
  
****Earth (An hour since Harris left)****  
  
Sharp shot straight up, sweating and frantically looking around to figure out where he was. His heart was beating loud enough that it seemed to echo in the empty room. Finally able to calm himself, he looked down at the mess of computer parts scattered all around him and then finally at the local power supply that had sent the surge of electricity through his body, rendering him unconscious. Slowly he began to remember what had really occurred. Once Harris and the others had left, Sharp decided that the base computers might hold some of the answers for which he was looking. Luckily, computers were one thing he knew about. He had eagerly tore into the personal computer cases around the base and then the base mainframe looking for salvageable parts to construct as least one working computer and to see which hard drives had survived whatever happened here. In his eagerness, however, he foolishly began to remove parts from a computer still hooked to the power system. "Nice job," Sharp said to himself, realizing that getting the computers up and running again would do him no good if he got himself killed doing it.  
  
"Ok, let's see here," Sharp continued, as he removed the power feed from the offending machine, "I've got everything in place except for the decryption hardware. Now if I can find one that's not fried, I'll be in business." He again began looking through the piles of computer components looking for the hardware. "Ok, fried... fried... fried.... and why the hell am I talking to myself? Stupid question I guess. They say talking to yourself is the first sign of madness and with all the insanity around me, it fits." He cocked he head to the right as if he was talking to someone. "So insane Glenn, what are we going to do tonight?" He then moved his head to look to the left. "The same thing I'm going to do every night, sane Glenn. Try to take over your brain." He tossed one of the fried board over into the discarded part pile he had created a few feet away and took a deep breath. "Get it together, Glenn! This is no time to be messing around!" Turning his attention back to the mess of wires and hardware, Glenn continued the work he had started a few hours before.  
  
****P9T-573 (2 hours later)****  
  
Stewart held his breath as he cowered in the bush several miles from what had been his home. He watched and listened for the two armed men who had been chasing him since he had escaped from those who had ruthlessly destroyed the camp. His mind wandered to the images he saw as they returned to the camp 2 hours earlier.  
  
****P9T-573 (2 hours earlier)****  
  
"Take cover, over there," Harris pointed. Each of the four with him quickly obeyed and found cover behind a few trees. Meanwhile, Harris crept closer to the camp, looking into the distance to determine what exactly was happening. Much to his horror, he saw several armed men, throwing lifeless bodies onto a large pile. If that hadn't been bad enough, he then saw two similar piles already on fire spreading the foul stink of burning flesh. As a young man, Harris had been taught by his father that tears only came from women and weak men, but this sight would have been powerful enough to invoke tears even from his father if he'd been alive. Completely enraged and with tears flowing, Harris chambered a round in his gun and prepared to take as many of them out as he could in retaliation for destroying his home and killing his adopted family, but before he could move, Davenport came up behind him and grabbed him.  
  
"You weren't thinking of doing anything stupid were you, Robert?"  
  
"Damn it, John, don't you see what they've done? They've murdered them all!"  
  
"And they'll kill us too unless we come up with a better plan then running in, guns blazing!" Just as he had spoken the words, they both watched as Corra did exactly that. "Damn it! Luke's gonna get himself killed!"  
  
"If you ask me, Luke's got the right idea!" And with that, Harris followed Corra into the fray.  
  
"Well, this has been a short and awful life," Davenport sighed frustrated. He then turned to signal Grissom and Stewart to join him before advancing himself.  
  
Stewart never thought himself as brave. He thought about how he'd much rather be back in that lab he saw on earth than in a fire fight right now, but Robert had looked out for him since before he could remember and he wasn't about to just sit there and watch him die. Swallowing the fear, he stepped out of his hiding place. He took two steps before Grissom stopped him. "What are you doing, Paul?"  
  
"Hold up, Chris. I know you wanna play hero, but I need you to do something more important."  
  
Stewart looked up at him as if to ask if he was serious. "What the hell are you talking about, Paul? We have to help them!"  
  
Grissom remained steadfast. "You will be helping them. I want you to go and bring back Captain Sharp."  
  
"But..."  
  
"No buts, Chris. We need all the help we can get! Now get going!" Grissom ordered, pointing in the direction of the gate. Stewart slowly turned and then began to carefully make his way back to the gate, not knowing until later how much he would regret that decision.  
  
****Earth (4 hours since Harris left)****  
  
Sharp smiled as he watched the computer start up. It had taken quite a bit of brainpower and programming to repair the corrupted files just to get it to boot into a basic operation mode. "Still got it," he smiled. Once it had finished booting, he began to look through the hard drives he installed for any files that were still readable. After about one hundred straight unreadable files, Sharp was starting to get a little frustrated. "Damn machine! I don't know why the hell I ever wanted to mess with these things for a living!" Sharp's typing become angry and fierce. He was about to take a much needed break when he finally got a hit. Sharp read over the file growing more and more conflicted.  
  
**********************  
  
Mission report for test flight, TFC Destroyer O'Niell. Date: October 11, 2005 Commanding Officer: Captain James Wellington, Tau'ri Fleet Command  
  
This is a general report on the strengths and weaknesses of the brand new line of Thor class Destroyers. It is my opinion that the O'Niell is the perfect instrument to use in the fight against the Maldorians. The weapon and defensive systems are on level with Maldorian destroyers and the increased maneuverability of the Asgard hyperspeed engines, I believe, gives us the edge we need to win this war. The only weakness I can see is its inability to fight effectively in short range engagements. It is for this reason I recommend the increase of the human gliders from a compliment of 24 to a compliment of 48. I have also submitted my recommendation for the commander of the glider wings. I understand this to be an unpopular recommendation, but I feel it necessary to the success of the planned follow up mission, Argos. I have provided the tests conducted and their results in my supplemental report.  
  
***********************  
  
Sharp read over the rest of the report but did not get anymore useful information. Closing the file, he did a search through the hard drives for anything related to the Argos mission and prayed that at least one of the files was still intacted. This time, the search was much quicker. Sharp hit upon what he was looking for in the first ten files. He opened the file to see list of code names. At first he wasn't sure what he was looking at until he noticed a grouping of six gate symbols beside each name. "A list of planets, but what type of planets? Maldorian bases? Shipyards? What?" He continued until he found the code name Argos. Reading across from the name, however, there were no symbols. "Damn! The rest of the file must have been corrupted." Sharp quickly took out Chrislyn's journal and began copying code names and symbols as fast he could in the blank pages. He had most of the list copied when he heard the stargate begin to activate.  
  
****P9T-573 (15 minutes earlier)****  
  
"Why can't we just shoot the piss ant and then take the other one out ourselves?"  
  
"Because we have orders to take them both alive and bring them back to Kelsar and that's what we're going to do." The two men "chasing" Stewart were hidden about a hundred feet away, waiting for him to make his move. "Besides, if we're gonna route out the rest of the sorry excuses for a species we need to use morons like him. Whenever the going gets tough, these cowards go running to all the hiding places."  
  
"It makes me sick just to look at them," he literally looked ill as he said it.  
  
"Well at least you weren't part of an infiltration team. I had to live with them, eat with them, be around them all day long. The damn invasion couldn't have come soon enough for me."  
  
"It's amazing you didn't go crazy. I don't think I could go a week without killing the whole lot of them."  
  
"Yeah, well you do need a certain level of restraint to be an infiltrator and that's never been your strong point."  
  
"And when I'm leading a battalion and you're still hunting wild game, you'll wish that level of restraint was a lot lower," he smiled.  
  
The other soldier chuckled and then got serious. "We got movement." They watched as Stewart made his way to the DHD and began to dial. "Well so far our intel is right on the money. He went straight for the gate."  
  
"Didn't even try to throw us off the track. Sometimes it's just too easy." Stewart finished dialing and the gate activated.  
  
"Time to move out. Laser pistols only, stun setting."  
  
"You really know how to ruin a soldier's day you know that?"  
  
"Unless you want to explain to Kelsar why his prisoners are dead." The other soldier just grunted as they both ran to follow Stewart through the gate.  
  
****Earth****  
  
Sharp arrived in the gate room with his P90 just in time to the see the wormhole establish. He positioned himself at the base of the ramp and raised the gun, nervously waiting for whatever was coming through.  
  
Stewart emerged from the gate and almost immediately spotted Sharp. "Don't shoot! It me, Chris!"  
  
"What the hell are you doing back here?" Sharp asked confused.  
  
Stewart ran down the ramp as he answered Sharp with fatigue and fear in his voice. "We need your help, Captain. The Maldorians found the camp, they killed everyone! Harris and the others tried to fight them. Please, you have to come back with me! We have to help them!" No sooner had Stewart finished then both of the soldiers who had been following him came through the gate. Both took aim and fired at Stewart and Sharp.  
  
"Down!" Sharp yelled as he tackled Stewart, narrowly avoiding the shots. Realizing however that they were still exposed, he quickly jumped behind one of the larger debris piles and drug Stewart behind it with him. The soldiers took cover as well behind the ramp on the side farthest from Sharp. Sharp moved out to return fire, forcing the soldiers to duck behind the ramp. "Who the hell are those guys, Stewart?"  
  
"Humans who have betrayed their race and fight for the Maldorians," Stewart replied, scared and breathing heavily. The two solders forced both of them back down with laser fire. "We assume that they were offered some kind of deal to infiltrate and eventually turn in any resistance to the Maldorian dominance." Sharp popped up to return fire again and then dropped back behind the debris pile.  
  
"We're pinned down here." Sharp looked down to see Stewart holding his pistol. "You any good with that thing?"  
  
"I'm a pretty fare shot, why? You don't want me to..." Stewart started with a look that spelled disbelief.  
  
"I need you to cover me," Sharp interrupted him. "I have to get closer."  
  
"Are you kidding me? I can't cover you!! Yeah, sure I talk about being a soldier, but I'm a thinker, not a fighter! An idea man!"  
  
"You'll do fine, and besides, you're all I got." Without giving him a chance to object again, Sharp shot another volley in the direction of the ramp and began to move. The two soldiers, seeing this, moved up to stun him, but were surprised when shots were again fired at them from the debris pile. With their attention divided, Sharp managed to move close enough for a clear shot and he took advantage of it, landing kill shots on both. Sharp carefully moved closer to examine the bodies to make sure they were dead.  
  
"Did you get them?" Stewart carefully poked his head back out to see for himself after not getting a response from Sharp. He watched as Sharp bent down to take a pulse.  
  
"Yeah I got 'em," Sharp replied, letting out a deep breath. The sense of relief was short lived however as he noticed a device on one of the soldier's wrists that seemed to be counting down. "Stewart, get over here!" he yelled with an urgency. Stewart quickly ran over and Sharp shoved the soldier's wrist into his face. "What the hell is that?"  
  
"Damn! It's a dead man's switch. The Maldorians use them when they issue a succeed at all costs mission." Sharp dropped the soldier's arm and headed for the door. "Where are you going?"  
  
Sharp stopped long enough to answer him. "When that thing goes off, it's gonna bring this base and the mountain its in down on top of us. So unless you can disarm that thing, I'm getting us the hell out of here!" Sharp turned and ran to the control room, counting his blessings that one of the first things he installed on the working computer was the SGC dialing program. He quickly entered the symbols for P9T-573 and ran back down to the gate room. Stewart watched confused as the gate spun and locked in each chevron.  
  
"I thought you said you didn't have a DHD?"  
  
"This isn't the time! Just pray this thing finishes dialing before that guy give us both a bad day!" Moments later the seventh chevron locked and both ran through with only seconds to spare.  
  
****P9T-573****  
  
Both Stewart and Sharp landed safely on the other side but force of the explosive followed them through the gate and threw them another 10 feet. Sharp got up slowly holding his left arm which had taken the brunt of the fall. He looked over to see Stewart starting to get up as well. "You ok?"  
  
Stewart got up holding his head. "Not sure."  
  
Sharp moved over to take a look at the injury. "I'm no doctor but I think you'll be fine."  
  
"And if I'm not?" Stewart asked, not completely trusting Sharp's diagnosis.  
  
"Hey, you get what you pay for," Sharp replied smiling. "Now come on, we got some friends of yours to rescue." Sharp extended his hand and helped Stewart up. "So, what do you know besides the fact that the village was attacked?"  
  
"Not much. There were at least a dozen soldiers, including the ones that chased me, but that's all I saw before Paul sent me to find you."  
  
"Alright then, let's get moving. Follow me and be as inconspicuous as possible."  
  
Over an hour later, they found a spot providing enough cover to hide but close enough to watch the camp. Sharp pulled out a pair of binoculars and surveyed the camp. Looking around, he saw several soldiers and three figures tied up and at gunpoint. "Well its looks like you were right on the money, Stewart. I count ten soldiers and three hostages. Harris, Davenport and Corra."  
  
"They must not have found Grissom yet. Are they alive?"  
  
"I can't tell from here. If they are, they're not in good shape." Sharp noticed the soldiers didn't seem to be doing much besides guarding the hostages. "I wonder what they are waiting for?"  
  
"They probably are waiting for those other guys to come back with me and Paul. What are we gonna do?" Stewart asked, worried.  
  
"I'm gonna distract the soldiers while you get Harris and the others out."  
  
"You want me to do WHAT??!!" Stewart's eyes got wide as he started to shake his head. Sharp grabbed him by the collar and gave him a look that instantly snapped Stewart to attention.  
  
"Look! I'm gonna get your friends out but I need your help! Now get it together and do what I tell you!" Stewart nodded his head and Sharp let him go. "Now, as soon as I draw the soldiers away from the others, get in there, untie them and get out. Got it?" Stewart nodded again. "Good. No heroics now. As soon as you guys are out, head for the gate and dial some place safe."  
  
"We can't just leave you. And what about Grissom?" Stewart questioned.  
  
"I keep telling you, don't worry about me. As for Grissom, if he's smart, he'll do the same thing I just told you to do. Now get ready." Sharp put the P90 on the ground and pulled out his 9mm. Spotting his target, he carefully made his way down near the edge of their perimeter. Quietly sneaking behind one of the soldiers, he waited until all of the other weren't looking and grabbed him behind from behind the bush. With one quick move he broke the soldier's neck and then hurriedly started to change clothes. After he finished, he grabbed the soldier's laser rifle and took his position, trying to evaluate the situation close up. When he was sure his plan was feasible, he approached the soldier who seemed to be the commander. "Sir, I just received a transmission from our capture team. They've captured the fugitives but one of them is injured. They'll need our assistance."  
  
The commander looked at Sharp with a look that asked what the hell Sharp thought he was doing. "And why didn't I receive this transmission, Malson?"  
  
Sharp was beginning to sweat it a little as he moved his finger to the trigger of the rifle. "I'm not sure, sir."  
  
The commander was obviously not buying it and took a closer look at who was speaking to him. "You aren't Malson! Intrud..." But that was he could get out before Sharp shot him point blank in the chest. The commander's yelling and the shot quickly put the other soldiers on alert and several of them were already trained in on Sharp. He quickly hit the deck to avoid several shot fired in his direction and popped off a few of his own before making a mad dash for cover.  
  
**************  
  
Seeing all the commotion, Stewart swallowed hard and then made his way toward Harris and the other as quietly as he could and holding his pistol and the P90 Sharp had left behind. He almost had made to them when one of the soldiers who had been guarding the prisoners spotted him. As the soldier raised his gun, Stewart panicked and in a desperate move, closed his eyes and fired his pistol madly in the direction of the soldier. Bracing himself for the return from the soldier, he opened his eyes slowly when he heard a familiar voice.  
  
"Hey Chris, nice shot! You wanna untie us now?"  
  
Stewart looked over to see Davenport signaling with his head to come over and help out. Stewart then glanced over to where the soldier had been. Looking more closely, he saw a bullet sized hole right between his eyes. Stewart couldn't help but smile, but Davenport quickly ruined the moment.  
  
"Sometime today, Chris," Davenport said impatiently. Stewart rushed over and began to untie them. Once untied, Davenport checked on Harris and Corra. "Luke's gonna be ok, but Robert is in bad shape. He needs some help and quick." Just about that time, Corra started to come around. "Luke! Can you hear me?"  
  
Corra shook off the sleep and looked up to Davenport. "Yeah I think so. What's going on?"  
  
"Time to kick some Maldorian ass, my friend." Davenport helped Corra up and grabbed the P90 Stewart was holding. He then tossed the dead soldier's laser rifle to Corra. "Chris, stay here and look out for Robert." Stewart nodded, forgetting all about Sharp's orders to leave and Davenport and Corra rushed to help out Sharp.  
  
**************  
  
"You know, insane Glenn, we really should have a talk about who gets to make the rescue plans around here," Sharp said to himself as he laid pinned down, returning fire when he could. He could hear the soldiers firing at him closing in on him, when he suddenly he also heard more fire coming from what seemed to be behind them. Recognizing the sound of the P90, he smiled and counted his blessings again. Rising to a crouch, Sharp helped Corra and Davenport catch them in a crossfire.  
  
In a few minutes, it was all over. Corra had taken a shot to the arm, but he would be ok. Sharp came out from his cover and joined Davenport and Corra. They each just smiled and shook hands, congratulating each other.  
  
"Did I miss all the fun?" said another voice, emerging from the brush.  
  
"Paul! Good to see you. We thought they'd got you," Davenport exclaimed, walking over to give Grissom a manly hug. It was then that Davenport noticed that Grissom was not alone. "And who do we have here?"  
  
Grissom stepped out of the way to allow Sarah and Christine to be seen by the others. "I found them hiding down by the river. They were gathering water when the attack hit." Sharp smiled at them, glad to see they had made it.  
  
"Guys! He's awake!" Stewart yelled, breaking the moment. All six of them rushed over to check on him. Davenport was the first to get there and helped prop him up. Harris' entire body was beaten and bleeding.  
  
"How you doing, old man?" Davenport asked.  
  
"Been better, John. Did you guys get 'em?" he asked gasping for air.  
  
"Yeah, but we had a little help," Davenport responded, looking up to Sharp.  
  
"Come here, Captain..." Harris asked. Sharp leaned down. "Take care of my boys, will ya?"  
  
"You got it, Harris," Sharp said taking his hand.  
  
"I guess we were more alike than we wanted to admit, Sharp. Give those bastards hell." And then Harris was gone. For the next hour, there wasn't a dry eye on the planet. Not even Sharp's.  
  
****P9T-573 (3 hours later)****  
  
Each had something to say at the funeral before they buried Harris. Then Davenport and the rest except for Sharp, started burying the rest of the camp member's remains. Sharp has just returning to the camp, as they were finishing.  
  
"Any luck?" Stewart asked.  
  
"No. Earth's gate is buried. There is no going back there."  
  
"So what's our next move, Captain?" Davenport asked.  
  
Sharp thought about the code names and symbols he has taken down earlier. His only hope now was that one or more of those planets held the answers he needed. "We honor Harris' last words. We give the bastards hell. Who's in?"  
  
"I think I speak for all of us when I say, we're in, Captain," Stewart responded.  
  
********************  
  
They arrived at the gate an hour later and Sharp began to dial the first sequence he had written down in Chrislyn's journal.  
  
"So, where are we going, Captain?" Grissom asked.  
  
Sharp smiled. "Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Where else?" Just then the gate opened and each of them took one last look, knowing that none of them could ever return home.  
  
****To Be Continued in 'Proof of Life'**** 


	4. Proof of Life

Content Warning: Mild Language and Violence  
  
Proof of Life  
  
  
  
Journal Entry, March 7, 2025:  
  
I'm taking a page out of the book of Dr. Chrislyn Star today, both literally and figuratively. Literally in the sense that the page that I write this entry on comes out of her journal and figuratively in the sense that I think this has become necessary in order to organize my thoughts and fully realize what has happened to me.  
  
The world I knew is gone, my friends and family are dead or missing, and I was completely helpless to stop it. The story of my life I guess. Every time I think I have my life back together again, it all falls apart. I've tried to bring a little bit of order to this chaos that I now find myself in, trying to keep myself sane. One of those things is to start keeping track of the days. Harris told me that his best guess was that I arrived in February of 2025. Counting that as February 1st, that would make this day the 7th of March. Thirty-five days and its seemed like so much longer.  
  
If it wasn't for the company I picked up along the way, I might have been completely insane by now. John Davenport has become my most trusted adviser and second-in-command. His combat instincts outweigh my own and he has sufficiently proved this in the two skirmishes we've had with humans fighting for the Maldorians.  
  
Luke Corra has become my special project. He reminds me a lot of myself after Jennifer died, angry and devoid of hope. If the situation I'm currently in could be used for any good at all, it could be to show Luke that life's circumstances need not dictate our attitude and when all else is gone, hope is the one thing we can't let go.  
  
One person who has really helped me keep things in perspective is Chris Stewart. What he lacks in military skill, he more than makes up for in smarts and perspective. In the past month, he's helped me come to terms with has happened and although its still difficult to accept, I would definitely be a lot farther away if it wasn't for his help.  
  
I was worried at first for Sarah and Christine being out here with us with so much danger around, but they have most definitely held their own and I don't just mean their outstanding cooking, without which all of us men would starve. Probably the most memorable moment would be the time they cold clocked two unsuspecting soldiers who had stumbled upon our camp on planet Midas. The poor guys never saw it coming.  
  
Which leaves Paul Grissom. A decent fighter and he follows orders, but otherwise he is the epitome of the loner. He hardly ever speaks even to those from his camp so its hard to know what to make of him. I've decided not to discuss anything about this with any of the others as not to alarm them, but something doesn't sit quiet right with him.  
  
As for looking for answers to what happened at the SGC, I wish I could say its been more productive. We've visited five planets so far. And while three of them showed signs of once holding civilization, there was nothing left to salvage or learn. I can hope we find someone or something on this next planet. Right now even the most simple of signs that there is something out there to work and strive for would be enough for me. We dial out for the next planet in a couple days. Maybe we'll get lucky.  
  
****Planet Artemis (March 9th, 2025, Early morning)****  
  
Sharp quickly got into a defensive position once he arrived through the wormhole. They had been ambushed once before arriving on one of the other worlds and sticking to protocol for potentially hostile worlds might have been the thing that saved their lives. Davenport and the others followed suit having been taught by Sharp how to do so in an effective manner.  
  
"It looks clear, sir," Davenport observed.  
  
"I told you, you don't have to call me that, John," Sharp responded as he stood.  
  
"If we're gonna be effective military force against the Maldorians, we need to act like one. That means we need a real command structure and discipline to follow it, SIR," Davenport stood at attention as he added the end. Sharp rolled his eyes as the rest of the group, excluding Grissom, mimicked Davenport and all simultaneously added an emphatic, "Sir, yes, sir!"  
  
"Alright, cut it out you guys," Sharp said halfway between amused and annoyed. Again, all except Grissom, started laughing at their little joke. The truth of the matter was, that Davenport was serious about what he said. All of them were ready to inflict some hurt on the Maldorian forces and to them, Sharp's appearance was the sign they needed that now was the time. The problem that Sharp had was that the last time he led a mission, he lost his entire team... or he got lost depending on which way you look at it. Either way, he was not excited about the prospect of a repeat performance and the easiest way to avoid that was to avoid the stage entirely.  
  
The planet was a bit on the humid side and the sun was already making things quite warm despite the early hour. The vegetation was very reminiscent of tropics back on earth and Sharp couldn't help but think of his one time desire to take a romantic excursive to some of the more exotic locations on earth. Unable to resist, he began to sing his favorite Beach Boys tune, Kokomo, garnering many stares and questioning looks from his companions. Unaware of the odd looks behind him, Sharp continued to sing as he began to investigate for signs of inhabitants.  
  
"Chris, are you sure that wave thing didn't do anything to his brain?" Corra asked, unable to believe his ears.  
  
"Well there's no way to be sure, but there is also nothing to indicate that it would," Stewart replied with a very quizical look.  
  
"So he was like this before, then?" Grissom wondered.  
  
"I don't know," Davenport chimed in. "I think it's kinda catchy." Now all the eyes shifted from Sharp to Davenport. Looking quite uncomfortable, Davenport shrugged and added, "What??!!"  
  
"Oh I don't know, John. I think it might just be the big brown spot on your nose," Grissom sarcastically answered.  
  
Davenport let out a deep breath and turned away from the gate. "Can we just get to it, please?" Davenport walked to join Sharp to search for inhabitants as the rest, except Grissom, enjoyed one last laugh.  
  
****************  
  
She sat in cover about a mile from the gate, watching the whole scene transpire. Dressed in what resembled traditional full body Caribbean wrap, the young woman of no older than 20 let out a deep, frustrated breath. "This is not good," she said to herself as she reached for her radio. "Alpha one to base, repeat, this is alpha one, come in base."  
  
"Base here, this is Homeguard," came the reply.  
  
"We have a problem, Homeguard. Party crashes near the objective."  
  
"How many, alpha one?"  
  
"I count seven. Five males, two females."  
  
"Have they discovered you?"  
  
"No, sir. They seem to be scouting the area, looking for signs of inhabitants."  
  
"ETA to mission operational window?"  
  
"Five minutes, sir"  
  
"Ok, I'm sending backup, alpha one. Remain where you are until they arrive. If necessary, abort your mission. We can't allow anyone to compromise this operation."  
  
"Understood, sir," alpha one responded, with even more frustration. She knew what an abort meant. This would set their timetable back quite a bit as if it hadn't been interrupted enough. There was no choice, however. She knew her commander was right. If this information was intercepted, even as an encrypted transmission, it would be a much larger blow to their plans. She put the radio away and watched the intruders as she waited for backup.  
  
****************  
  
"Captain, I think I found something!" exclaimed Corra. Sharp rushed over to see Corra standing over what looked to be a partial footprint.  
  
"John, get over here. I need you to look at this." Davenport rushed over to Sharp's position. "How fresh does this look to you?" Sharp asked, hoping that Davenport agreed with his guess.  
  
"No more than a couple days," Davenport answered, with a hint of excitement. "It looks like they did a good job of getting rid of the tracks with the exception of this one."  
  
Sharp smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that. Finally some good news. Have everyone fan out, we're gonna fi..." Suddenly Sharp was cut off by the sound of the gate activating. Sharp instinctively began giving orders. "Everyone take cover. John, with me!" Davenport nodded and began to follow, but before they got far, they were stopped in their tracks by what they heard.  
  
"Freeze or the rest of your team is dead!" someone shouted. Sharp and Davenport froze in their tracks and slowly turned around. They saw several men and women dressed in what looked like military uniforms, but they were unlike any Sharp had seen before. What was worse, they had several of his team at gunpoint. "Drop your weapons, hands on your head." the same voice ordered.  
  
Seeing no other alternative, Sharp motioned and then ordered, "Do as he says." Sharp and Davenport then slowly tossed their weapons to the ground and placed their hands behind their head. Just then, the gate opened and Sharp's radio chirped to life with what sounded to him like a coded signal. "What the hell?" Sharp asked surprised.  
  
Suddenly the man who seemed to be in charge became very insistent. "Drop the gun now or we drop you!"  
  
Out of the corner of his eye, Sharp caught Corra slowly ready his own weapon. "I said drop it, Luke!"  
  
Corra shot an angry glance in the direction of Sharp. Whispering to Sharp, Corra communicated his intentions, "I can take a few of them out before they get me."  
  
"But not before they take out a few of us," Sharp whispered back. "Besides, I need people like you if we're going to win this thing. New put the gun down, please" Corra was obviously not happy about it, but he complied with Sharp's order.  
  
One of the women removed Sharp's radio from his possession and handed it to the man in charge. He looked it over before looking back up to their prisoners. "Take them to a holding cell. We'll interrogate the leader first," the man said. The others moved in and led Sharp and his team toward the base. The man in charge then turned and hurriedly tried to ready a device he pulled out of his pocket. Moments before he could finish, however, the gate disengaged. Furious, he threw his weapon to the ground and shouted a few obscenities.  
  
****************  
  
Several guards were escorting all but Sharp to a makeshift cell deep within the caves they called a base. As they reached the cell, the head guard motioned for them to enter and activated the laser cell bars. They all watched as the guards left and began discussing their options.  
  
"First order of business is getting ourselves out of here," Davenport started. "Any ideas?"  
  
Stewart stepped up to look at the lasers keeping them from exiting. "We'd need some kind of mirror or metal to reflect the beams. And then someone small enough to slip in between them." All four males turned to Sarah and Christine.  
  
"Well maybe you guys will start watching the pot bellies a little closer," Christine smiled.  
  
"Its all you gals' fault you know," Corra smiled. "If you weren't such good cooks, we wouldn't have this problem."  
  
Grissom broke in, finally having enough of what he saw as wasting time. "Enough already! Can we concentrate on the task at hand please?"  
  
Davenport nodded his head. "Paul's right, we need to get out of here, rescue Sharp and get off this planet."  
  
"That's not what I meant, John," Grissom glared at Davenport. "I meant we get the hell out of here with our skins intact. We should stop this insane war with the Maldorians and find a new home. One were we can live in peace."  
  
Each them simply stared at Grissom. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that, Paul," Davenport said sternly.  
  
"And I can't believe you actually want to keep this guy around!" Grissom yelled back. "What has he done that's been good for us so far? He's gotten us captured by god knows who, we've fought the Maldorians twice and almost been killed and while we were gone on his fool's errand to what he thinks was earth, our entire camp was wiped out! Now what the hell has he done that is worth risking our lives for him?!"  
  
Davenport walked up and got right in Grissom's face. "And what were we before he came? We lived out our pathetic lives, hoping and praying that we died of old age before the Maldorians got us! What has he done that is worth risking our lives for him? He's given each of something we never had before. He's given each of us the chance to make a difference!"  
  
"And hope," Corra added.  
  
"And courage," Stewart continued.  
  
"And something to believe in," Sarah added, taking Christine's hand as she smiled in agreement.  
  
Davenport turned to each of them as they spoke and then back to Grissom when they had finished. "So, Paul, what should we do?" Grissom turned away in disgust and walked as far as he could from the rest of them. Davenport turned back to Stewart. "Ok, what do we need?"  
  
Stewart looked up to Davenport to answer, "A reflective metal... silver or something."  
  
"But they took everything we had except our clothes," reminded Corra.  
  
Sarah reached into the wrap she was wearing to remove a silver fastener. "Not everything," she said as see handed it to Davenport.  
  
Davenport turned to Stewart. "Will this work?" he asked with hope.  
  
"Well not in its present state, but with a little work, I think so."  
  
"Get on it," Davenport ordered and Stewart nodded in agreement.  
  
****************  
  
The fist came across Sharp's face for what seemed like the hundredth time since he has been brought into the dimly lit room. The fist's owner repeated his question once again for Sharp to answer, "What is your mission objective and how did the Maldorians find us?!"  
  
Sharp slowly looked back up at his inquisitor and answered in the same manner he had before. "Glenn Sharp, Captain, United States Air Force. Serial number 54896253."  
  
"Wrong answer and I am losing patience." He swung another right hook and connected on Sharp's jaw. "Now, you can answer my questions, or we can move up to the next level of interrogation."  
  
Sharp spat blood on the floor before once again raising his head to look up. "You know if people keep calling me a liar every time I tell them who I am, I'm gonna start taking it personally."  
  
"We got ourselves a comedian here," the interrogator said as he gave a smug smile. "Well let's just see if you're still funny after we're done with you."  
  
Sharp smiled back. "I'm not as funny as you trying to make me you're SGC."  
  
"So you're saying that YOU are part of the SGC?" the interrogator asked laughing. Sharp's smile turned to a frown. He realized he had told his interrogator more than he should have. Not wanting to make the same mistake again, he reverted to giving name, rank and serial number. The interrogator was about to punch him again when a women walked in, whispered something to him, gave him a small device and left. "So, you claim to be a part of the SGC, huh? Then explain why there a was a Maldorian transmitter on one of your men?"  
  
The look of surprise was obvious on Sharp's face. Was he telling the truth or using this as a ploy to break the trust between him and his men? Not wanting to give him anything more than he had already, Sharp remained silent.  
  
"What? No witty retort for that one, Captain?" the interrogator asked in a very sarcastic tone.  
  
The interrogator went on for some time with threats and taunting, but Sharp blocked most of it as he thought about the confusing situation of which he was now in the middle. The signal that he had begun to receive was on what he had known as an SGC frequency. That left two possibilities, that either the Maldorians were now using that frequency, which didn't make sense considering there was no evidence Maldorians even used radio let alone signals they knew would be compromised, or that it really was a SGC radio transmission. What if it was real? Did that mean that the SGC still existed but on another planet? That they were still fighting? The thought then crossed his mind that it could have been staged for his benefit. That would explain the transmitter. If one of his men had been compromised, they would know exactly when and where to spring the trap. But that raised the question of why. He didn't bother to pretend he was Maldorian, so it couldn't be to entrap him. If it was just to kill him, they would have done it by now. The only thing that made sense was that the transmission was real and genuine. Now if that assumption was true, what did that say about their captors? Are they Maldorians trying to intercept SGC transmissions, or are they the signal's intended recipients? If they are Maldorian, why are they asking him the questions they are asking? To trick him into revealing information about the SGC? He didn't even know if it existed anymore, let alone anything that would compromise them.  
  
All of those thoughts rushed through Sharp's head quickly, but not quickly enough to realize that his interrogator was becoming enraged at his refusal to answer. "Now you listen to me you self-important, arrogant bastard," he said wrapping one of his hands around his neck, practically spitting the words at him. "My job is to get this information out of you and I'm very good at it. Now I've been very nice up to this point, but..."  
  
The interrogator was cut off by the sound of an alarm going off throughout the base. "Looks like your friends are here. You might just get a quick death after all." The interrogator left, leaving Sharp to his thoughts once again.  
  
****************  
  
The room was filled with several people and electrical wires scattered around connecting electronic displays and devices, all frantically tracking the same flashing dot. Walking into the room was the man known simply as Homeguard, with a look on his face that made him look twice his 30 years he was alive.  
  
"What's the situation," Homeguard asked.  
  
"The destroyer will be here in under thirty minutes, sir," a women at one of the consoles answered him. "Long range weapons range in less than five."  
  
"How's the evacuation coming?"  
  
A man at another console spoke up, "All non-essential personnel were evacuated through the gate several minutes ago. The remaining personnel are packing up equipment and will be departing through the gate soon. It looks like we lucked out, sir. They don't have the symbols for this planet, so they can't block our escape by opening the wormhole on their side. This area will begin being torn down in 10 minutes."  
  
"Very good. I'm going to see about taking care of our prisoners." Homeguard turned and headed towards their cell.  
  
****************  
  
Sharp had been struggling to get free from his bonds since the interrogator had left him several minutes ago. For Sharp, however, it had felt like several hours. While he had been chained to the chair and could not free himself from those, the chair was wooden and looked like it could give way. He was about to give it another good jolt when he heard footsteps. Damn it, he thought, not what I needed. Seconds later, the door opened, but instead of one of his captors, Sharp was relieved to see Christine. "What took you guys so long?"  
  
Christine smiled, "I could just leave you here you know."  
  
"No, no," he backtracked. "Perfect timing. Absolutely perfect." Picking the locks on the chains, she freed him from the chair and he stood. "Where are the others?"  
  
"They're still locked in the cell. There was only enough time to let one of us out and Sarah and I were the only two that would fit."  
  
"Do you know what's going on with the alarm?"  
  
"I heard something about a Maldorian destroyer on the way here."  
  
"Alright, we need to get back and let John and the rest out. And then we need to help these people escape."  
  
Christine looked at him in confusion. "We need to help them? Aren't they working for the Maldorians?"  
  
Sharp moved to open the door and check the area. "They're either SGC or working for them. It's the only thing that makes sense of what's happened. That destroyer is here to level this place and it may be our fault."  
  
Christine was even more confused now. "What?"  
  
"No time to explain it all, we have to move now," he said with urgency. As he finished, the entire network of caves shook violently. "They must be firing on us."  
  
"That felt like a long range missile," Christine explained. "They aren't very accurate. That one probably hit a few miles away."  
  
"I'd hate to feel one that was a direct hit," Sharp said, half joking, half serious.  
  
"You probably wouldn't feel it," Christine responded, deadly serious.  
  
"Lovely. Come on." Sharp and Christine moved through the tunnels that lead toward the prison. They were almost to their destination when the cavern shook again, knocking a large part of the ceiling free and bringing it down on Christine. "Damn it!" Sharp rushed over to check her vitals and see if she was okay. Christine was still conscious, but barely. "Come on, you're gonna be fine." Sharp picked her up and carried her the rest of the way. Finally reaching the cell, Sarah ran up to the bars with concern and fear in her eyes.  
  
"Oh no, is she gonna be ok?" she asked shaking.  
  
"She's alive and we'll be able to take care of her once we all get out of here," Sharp answered her. He then turned his attention to the control panel and turned off the cell bars. "Sarah, Chris, take Christine somewhere safe and wait to hear from me. Paul, Luke, John, with me."  
  
Each of them did as they were told, Sarah and Stewart headed off to what seemed to be a more stable portion of cave and the rest followed Sharp looking for the control room. After a few minutes, Sharp and those with him heard footsteps. All of them took cover as Homeguard turned the corner. Taking him by surprise, Sharp stepped in front and disarmed him and held him at gunpoint.  
  
Homeguard stood there trying to hide his surprise and fear. "What are you going to do now? Kill me?"  
  
Sharp softened his look and turned the gun, handle up back toward Homeguard. "No, we want to help you and your men get out of here."  
  
"I don't understand," Homeguard said with a perplexed look but taking the gun. "First you bring the Maldorians here and now you want to help us escape?" Davenport and the rest behind Homeguard looked confused as well.  
  
"That was unintentional. I didn't know about the transmitter. I understand who you are now and I want to help you and if the situation is as dire as it seems, you're going to need all the help you can get."  
  
"And why should I trust you?" Homeguard asked with a suspicious look, aiming the gun back at him. Just as he said it, another missile rocked the cavern.  
  
"Do you have much of a choice at his point?" Sharp pointed out.  
  
Sharp's look communicated all it need to Homeguard. He finally relented and lowered the weapon. "You can help evacuate some of the heavier equipment."  
  
"Not a problem, but first, we have an injured women who needs medical attention as soon as possible."  
  
"Most of our medical teams have already evacuated. We'll have to treat her on our escape world. Have her brought to the gate as soon as possible."  
  
Sharp nodded and then relayed the information to Sarah and Stewart. He then motioned for everyone else to follow him to their command center. As they arrived, the caves were jolted by other missile, this one hitting much closer than the first few.  
  
"They're getting within range of their primary weapons," one of the soldiers said. "Seven minutes to optimal firing range."  
  
Sharp and the rest helped to take down the rest of the equipment and high tailed it for the gate where Stewart and Sarah waiting with Christine. Homeguard dialed the escape planet and the last of the officers along with Sharp's team entered the wormhole.  
  
****Escape Planet (March 9th, 2025, Early evening)****  
  
Arriving on the escape planet, Sharp saw most of them planning another departure. "Where are you planning to go now?"  
  
"I'm afraid we can't tell you that," Homeguard answered. "Despite your help, your team has been compromised and we cannot allow you to know where we are headed."  
  
Sharp was disappointed but he understood. "Could you at least confirm what I suspect?"  
  
"Yes, we are the intelligence corps of the SGC," he confirmed. "The transmission that came through was a regularly scheduled transmission for an intelligence update."  
  
Sharp felt new life flow through him. "Then some of them made it out. Could you get a message to them? Let them know we're out here?" Sharp asked.  
  
"I'm afraid that when we miss a transmission like we did today, we have to wait at least three months before they contact us again. You see we do not have knowledge of the planet where the SGC base resides and it's a fail safe to make sure the Maldorians don't compromise the operation. I'm sorry." His expression communicated a true expression of remorse at not being able to fulfill Sharp's request. It was at the moment that Stewart approach them.  
  
"They say that Christine is going to be fine, but she'll need rest and time to recover," he informed them.  
  
Sharp turned back to Homeguard. "We don't have the resources to take care of her."  
  
Homeguard understood what he meant. "We can take care of her, Captain. It's the least we could do in return for your assistance. If any of that equipment had fallen into the wrong hands, it could have meant the end."  
  
"Thank you," Sharp replied. "I have a feeling that Sarah will want to stay with her, if that's alright."  
  
"I'm sure we can make some sort of arrangement."  
  
The rest of the evening passed with teams of personal preparing for their trip to their new planet of operations and the remaining members of Sharp's team getting ready to travel to their next destination. Sharp felt a renewed sense of hope and a great despair all at the same time. He had found the small sign that he wanted. The SGC was still alive somewhere. At the same time however, he now had the problem of discovering which of his team member might be a traitor. A prospect that was sure to haunt him for some time.  
  
Each of them said their goodbyes to Sarah and Christine who would be staying with the intelligence team on their new world and Sharp had one final conversation with Homeguard to discover on which member of his team the transmitter had been found. The answer weighed heavily on his mind through the night and into the next morning as they left for the next world on the list.  
  
****To Be Continued in "Fallen Star"**** 


	5. Fallen Star

Author's note: This chapter has a special guest star.  
  
Content Warning: Mild Language and Violence  
  
Fallen Star  
  
  
  
Journal Entry, April 17th, 2025:  
  
After a long three weeks that proved to be completely fruitless on planet Demeter, we've set up camp on our next planet on the list, codenamed Apollo. In only a few short hours, Chris has determined that some of the debris on the planet definitely indicate a former SGC facility somewhere in the vicinity. We've decided to head out at first light tomorrow to investigate. That is if any of us are still alive tomorrow after Corra's dinner tonight. The last time Corra cooked all of us lost two days bent over giving it back. I guess I didn't realize how much I would miss Sarah and Christine when I let them stay behind with Homeguard and his group.  
  
Another thing that disturbs me is that I have yet to find conclusive proof that there is a traitor in our midst and if there is, who the person may be. When Homeguard told me that transmitter that brought the Maldorian destroyer was found on Chris, I avoided him for quite a while. I didn't want to believe that he would be working for the Maldorians but as I began to think about it, I didn't want to believe any of them had betrayed me. Thinking about it further, I realized that the fact that the transmitter was found on him meant nothing. Anyone of them could have planted it on him to implicant him if it was discovered. By the same token, there is always the idea that Chris just didn't have time to get rid of it. Maybe I'm just over thinking things, but I need to figure out what's going on before we discover anything that would lead us to the SGC base, otherwise it could mean the end of this rebellion.  
  
Anyway, as for the old SGC facility, if we're lucky we can find something substantial enough to give us a clue as to where they moved. I must admit, however, as I've taken the last month to think about the fact that the SGC is in fact still alive, I now once again struggle with the thought of how many of my friends are still alive. Are Riley and Chrislyn still alive? Did any of SG-12 make it through the Maldorian attacks? If I ever find the base, how many of the faces will I recognize?  
  
Maybe I should give up this journal writing stuff. Reading over what I've written I realize how little this is helping. Oh well, maybe I'll just end this whole thing by eating some of Corra's cooking.  
  
****Planet Apollo (April 18th, 2025, early morning)****  
  
As the sun was just cresting over the horizon when Sharp got up to conduct his new routine to watch the sun rise and reflect on the day's objectives. It took only one good stretch to shake off any early fatigue and he quietly moved to a spot where he could sit and watch. He knew the others would be up for at least another hour, and he had become accustom to this quiet time. Today, however, he was enjoying it a little more than normal for some reason, which was why he didn't notice at first, the thin trail of smoke that the rising sun has revealed.  
  
"You do this every morning?" a familiar voice called from behind him.  
  
"Ever since we left P9T-573," he said still watching the sun rise.  
  
"Seems like a big waste of time if you ask me. The sleep would be more valuable."  
  
"You should try it sometime. Its actually quite relaxing."  
  
"And sleep isn't?" Luke asked, looking at him kinda fun.  
  
"Its not the same thing," Sharp replied, still not looking up. "Sometimes you just need some time to yourself when you're awake to put things in their proper perspective."  
  
"Put things in their proper perspective, huh?" Luke said as he looked up off into the horizon. "And what's the proper perspective of that campfire in the distance?"  
  
Sharp didn't know at first what he was talking about but when he took a closer look, he slowly got and tried to focus in on where the fire originated. "Wake up everyone else. We're gonna find out who else is here. And put that fire out!"  
  
****************  
  
As she pulled her breakfast off the fire, she carefully smothered the flames so that the thin smoke trail would not become noticeable. She really shouldn't have built the fire at all, but every once in a while during the almost eight years she had been stranded there, she just got sick of the taste of meat cooked on hot coals and went for the full blown cookout. It still never tasted great but it did taste better.  
  
She was about halfway through her... whatever it was, when she noticed the big puff of dark smoke from another fire going out. Tossing the rest of her breakfast, she quickly retreated into the cave she used for shelter to prepare in case company decided to drop by.  
  
****************  
  
"I can't see the smoke anymore," Davenport informed Sharp.  
  
"Me either," Sharp responded. "Keep your eyes out for any welcoming parties. Chances are if we spotted their campfire, they saw ours. If we keep heading northeast, we should find wherever the fire was."  
  
Each of them went on high alert looking for people, who were looking for them. Sharp took point with Davenport and Grissom to either side of him and then Stewart and Corra covering the rear. Slowly moving to the northeast through a forest, Sharp was beginning to wonder if all of them has been seeing things earlier, because there seemed to be no other evidence of anyone being anywhere near them. And then after about another twenty minutes, however, Sharp and Davenport realized they were right.  
  
"You smell that, Captain?" Davenport asked, getting a good whiff.  
  
"Yeah, I do," Sharp confirmed.  
  
"What?" Stewart question, wondering what he was missing.  
  
"You don't smell that, Chris?" Corra said, trying to bug Stewart and not really smelling anything.  
  
"John, Chris, flank left," Sharp said, ending the discussion. "Paul, Luke, right. I'll move up front." Sharp now moved cautiously toward a rock face that seemed to have a few caves carved into it. "Well, well. Looks like we found our neighbors." He approached one of the larger caves when he saw what looked like the remains of a smothered fire in front. Then out of no where, an older woman in her mid fifties sprung from what seemed to be out of no where, grabbed Sharp's rifle, swung it up, hitting him on the bottom of the jaw, knocking Sharp to the ground and leaving a deep gash between his chin and neck.  
  
Turning the rifle toward him, she recognized the uniform of the SGC. She looked around the tree line and ordered, "Tell your friends to drop their weapons and come out, NOW."  
  
"I'm alone," he bluffed. "There is no one else here."  
  
"I wasn't born yesterday you know," she responded with a look that spelled out she hadn't bought it. Calling out to the surrounding area, she yelled, "Come out now and I won't hurt this man." Then under her breath, "At least not yet anyway."  
  
Realizing none of them had a decent shot, Davenport and the rest complied with the order, emerging in full view. "Alright, we did as you asked," Davenport bargained. "Now let him go."  
  
"Get up," she told Sharp and motioned with the gun. Sharp slowly got up and finally got a good look at the woman who had assaulted him. "Who are you and where did you get that uniform?"  
  
"You know, the next person that asks..." Sharp said, starting to give his usually smart ass remark, when he suddenly recognized the face of the women to whom he was talking. He stopped in his tracks and he smiled in disbelief. "Wait a minute, I recognize you now. You're Major Samantha Carter!" Sharp exclaimed. "You were a part of the original SG-1!" Sam tightened her grip on the gun and gave Sharp a death glare. "Whoa... hold on, Ma'am. I'm Captain Glenn Sharp, commander of SG-12," Sharp said as he stood at attention and saluted her.  
  
"I don't now if that's your real name or not, but you better find a new source of information, because everyone knows there haven't been that many SG field teams in over eight years. So you can cut out the act and tell me what this is really all about."  
  
Sharp dropped the salute and took a deep breath. "Look, Major, this is gonna sound outrageous, but if anyone is gonna believe this story, it would be you."  
  
"Well you better talk fast and it better make sense." Sharp did his best to recap what he had experienced and tried to fill in some of the technical details from what Riley and Stewart had told him about the wave. While he was explaining, he tried to see if Sam was believing it or not, but she kept a very stern poker face through the entire explanation. "And that's the whole story, Major."  
  
"Its an interesting story and theoretically possible. You got anything to back it up?"  
  
"Well I know you worked with Captain Riley Fox and Dr. Chrislyn Star. They must have mentioned something to you about the wave on P9T-573. And the fact that I never came back?"  
  
"Sorry, doesn't ring a bell," she answered as she shook her head.  
  
"Well it's nice to know I was missed," Sharp said under his breath. "Look, I don't know how else to convince you, Major. You're just gonna have to trust me."  
  
"Give me one good reason why I should," Sam asked with the weapon now trained on Sharp's head.  
  
"Because there is a SGC base still out there," Sharp offered. "Together we could find it and maybe then we can find a way to win this war." Sharp paused as he saw he was finally getting through. Sharp softened as he spoke, "Major, we stand a much better chance working together then working alone."  
  
Sam slowly lowered the gun as she took one last look into Sharp's eyes, to assess his sincerity. "Well if we're going to work together, then I guess I better fill you in on what's happened since you've been gone."  
  
Sharp approached her and extended his hand, which Sam took and shook. "I'd like that, Major" he smiled.  
  
"Oh, and Captain?" Sam interjected. "I've been out of the military for a long time, so why don't you call me Sam."  
  
"On one condition of course. You have to call me Glenn."  
  
"Deal," she agreed.  
  
****Planet Apollo (20 minutes later)****  
  
Sharp wrinkled his forehead, trying to make sense of what Sam was telling him as she treated the gash she had given him with his gun. "So someone drops an anonymous tip about the Maldorian invasion twenty-three years ago just out of the blue?"  
  
"Well I don't know if it was anonymous or not, I just never found out who it was. I didn't return to the SGC until shortly after the destruction of the Argos colony in 2007."  
  
The mention of Argos peaked Sharp's interest. "Argos? That was the mission that followed the test flight of the O'Neill."  
  
Sam looked at him in surprise, "How did you know that?"  
  
"I was able to recover some of the data from the computers at the SGC," Sharp explained. "One of the files I recovered was the mission report on the test flight. It mentioned the Argos mission as a follow-up. It was a colonizing mission?"  
  
"The first human off-world colony, yes," Sam nodded. "It was also the location of the first Maldorain attack against earth and its allies." Sam became very sober as he continued. "They wiped out the colony and all of its defenses, including the O'Neill, in the middle of the dedication ceremony."  
  
Sharp could see in her face how hard it was for her to continue and decided that for now, changing the subject might be best. "So, they brought you back as a civilian scientist to work on a way to defeat them?"  
  
Sam composed herself and looked back up at Sharp. "We realized that we were completely wrong in our assessment of the O'Neill. It didn't stand a chance when matched up against one of their destroyers. They were looking to develop weapons and defenses for the next class of human destroyers. That's when Dr. Orion came to see me."  
  
"Dr. Orion?" Sharp questioned. "Dr. Matthew Orion?"  
  
Sam looked at him with a kinda of crooked smile and raised eyebrow. "No," she said with a slight laugh. "Dr. Chrislyn Orion. She married Matthew about a year before I came back to work for the SGC. She said it was something about a deal they worked out."  
  
Now Sharp got a chuckle. "Up until now I didn't think she would ever actually go through with it. Then again I never did quite understand went through her head half the time. It kind of surprises me that she would be working on something like weapons for a destroyer." Then Sharp's curiosity got the better of him and he had to know what happened to Chrislyn. "Do you know where she is now? Could she be on the new SGC base?" Sam paused for a moment and looked away from him. "What's wrong?" Sharp asked with a worried look, hoping it wasn't what he thought it was going to be.  
  
Unfortunately for Sharp, Sam confirmed what he feared. "Chrislyn died, Glenn. eight years ago."  
  
Sharp swallowed hard as his head hit the cave wall he was sitting against. "How did it happen?"  
  
"Well like I said we had been working on a way to improve the weapon and defensive systems of our destroyers," she started.  
  
****Orion Star Space Station in orbit of Planet Apollo (November 28th, 2015)****  
  
Captain Johnathon Tainn bounced little Paris Orion on his knee as he waited for his shift to end. What was ordinarily an extremely boring job had been brightened emensly because the visit from the giggling seven year old. "So Miss Paris," Tainn said as he picked her up off his knee, "what game shall we play next?"  
  
"Well whenever Aunt Riley visits we play chess," Paris smiled. "Its my favorite!"  
  
Tainn was surprised by the answer. "Chess? But that's a grown up person game."  
  
"Not uh," Paris argued. "I bet I can beat you!"  
  
"Oh you think so, huh?" Tainn said in a humoring tone. "Well we'll just see about that now, won't we?" he smiled.  
  
"I'll go get the game!" she exclaimed excitedly as she ran out of the room.  
  
Tainn smiled. Yeah he was gonna like being stationed here. He turned his eyes back to the monitors to go through his hourly checklist. It had almost become routine. This facility's location was so well concealed, they hardly ever saw friendly ship approach, let alone hostiles. He was in the home stretch of his checks when something caught the corner of his eye. "That's odd," he said to himself. They hadn't been expecting any ships in today, but the long range sensors clearly indicated a Thor class destroyer. Tainn immediately turned on the long range communication equipment to get some answers. "This is the Orion Star Space Station, calling Thor class destroyer, over." All Tainn heard in reply was static. "This is the Orion Star Space Station, calling Thor class destroyer. Come in, over." Still nothing. Something was definitely up. Just as he was about to contact the station commander, the threat indicator sounded. Peaking back at the monitor, the friendly Thor class ship was now being read as a fast moving Apophis class destroyer. Eyes frozen to the screen for several seconds, Tainn finally sounded the attack alarm and tried to raise the command room.  
  
****************  
  
Major Tim McKinney was enjoying his evening cup of coffee when a young Lieutenant walked up with the news from Captain Tainn.  
  
"Sir, we have a problem," she informed him. "Long range sensors detect an Apophis class destroyer headed for our position."  
  
The very thought of being compromised was so foreign to McKinney's mind that it didn't register completely until he thought about it for a moment. "How soon to firing range?"  
  
"At current range and speed, they will be in optimal firing range in 20 minutes," she answered.  
  
"Long range weapons?"  
  
"They are already in range, sir. They may not know our sensors have identified them as Maldorian. They tried to pass themselves off as a friendly, sir."  
  
"Damn! And we were so close! Sound the evacuation alarm and have Dr. Carter and Dr. Orion meet me in my office, ASAP!" The Lieutenant nodded obedience and turn to carry out her orders. McKinney trashed his coffee and frustrated, rushed to his office for his meeting. A few seconds later, the evac alarm sounded.  
  
****************  
  
Chrislyn and Sam each rushed to Major McKinney's office, meeting each other a little over halfway there. Sam was a few seconds faster with the question they were both thinking.  
  
"Do you know what is up with the evacuation?" Sam asked as they continued walking.  
  
"No I don't, but it better not be another stupid drill," Chrislyn responded with annoyance in her voice.  
  
They both entered McKinney's office just as another officer was leaving. As they walked up to his desk, McKinney turned to face him. Sam could see the concern in his face.  
  
"This isn't a drill is it, Major?" she asked.  
  
"I wish it was, Doctors," he answered. "We're tracking a Maldorian destroyer that is about 15 minutes from firing range. When it is, it will attack this facility and probably try to acquire the plans for Argos laser. We can't let that happen."  
  
"Major, Sam and I can take the plans for the laser with us in a hyperspace glider," Chrislyn offered. "By the time they got here we'd be long gone."  
  
McKinney shook his head as he responded, "They're too close now. They would intercept you and download the plans for the laser. I'm afraid this situation calls for a scorched earth approach."  
  
Sam and Chrislyn weren't about to give in that easily. "Sir, what if we launched a few extra gliders as decoys. That would increase the chances of us getting away with the blueprints."  
  
"We don't have the gliders to spare for something like that and besides its too risky," he said in a disapproving tone. "We couldn't take the chance, no matter what the odds. I want those blueprints and the prototype destroyed and then I want you two to evacuate the base. That's an order."  
  
Chrislyn was getting quite upset by this time, "Well that's too bad, because this is a civilian space station under MY authority and we've worked too hard to just destroy it because you're afraid!"  
  
Now it was McKinney's turn to become angry, "Now you listen here, Dr. Orion! I'm here to represent the interests of the SGC, which incidentally is the one who approved and funded construction of this space station! Now we've sent off your work every 3 months for the last few years, so as long as we get you off this station you'll be able to recreate anything that was destroyed."  
  
"Its not that simple, sir," Carter corrected him. "Most of the research and experiments we've conducted would take over a year to reproduce anywhere else."  
  
"Well I'm sorry to hear that, Dr. Carter, but we're implementing a total shut down and destruction of this base to be carried out in less than 15 minutes. Now I would like you to be off the base by the time that happens but that's up to you. Dismissed," McKinney finalized, turning to another officer to discuss another matter relating to the evacuation.  
  
Chrislyn just stormed out of the McKinney's office while Sam give him one last look before following her. "Chrislyn, what are you up to?"  
  
Trying to look innocent, Chrislyn responded, "What? I'm not up to anything."  
  
"I know you better than that, Chris. You're up to something."  
  
Chrislyn turned to look at Sam, "You just take care of getting rid of the blueprints and prototype. I'm going to find Paris and my journal. I'll meet you at the glider bay." Sam shook her head as she watched Chrislyn walk away and then started toward the laser laboratory.  
  
Chrislyn was halfway to her quarters when she heard a familiar little voice yell, "Mommy!" Chrislyn turn to see Captain Tainn carrying Paris on his shoulders, trying to catch up to her.  
  
"Paris Kaydence Orion!" Chrislyn scolded her. "Where have you been? You were supposed to be waiting in our quarters with Miss Hanson while I was working!"  
  
"But Miss Hanson is so boring, Mommy," Paris complained. "Captain Tainn is so much more fun!"  
  
"I'm sorry, Ma'am, it's my fault," Tainn tried to assist, putting her down. "I just can't say no to her."  
  
"Well you should be sorry!" Chrislyn yelled at him. "You're just as bad as another captain I used to know! Can't seem to stop screwing up!" Turning to Paris, she took her hand, "Come with me, Paris. We're going to get my journal and then go meet Aunt Sam." They both continued to their quarters while Tainn went back to assist with the evacuation.  
  
Chrislyn and Paris entered their quarters a few moments later and Chrislyn immediately went for her journal while Paris grabbed a few of her prized possessions including the chess game Riley had given her for her seventh birthday. As they turned to leave, Chrislyn bent down to address the look of fear on Paris' face. "What's wrong, Paris?"  
  
"I'm afraid, Mommy," she said, trying to be as brave as possible.  
  
Chrislyn hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. "Everything is going to be ok, Sweetie. You don't have anything to worry about." Picking Paris up in her arms, Chrislyn made her way toward the glider bay, where escape ships were being launched, trying to flee from the long range weapons of the Maldorian destroyer. As she turned the corner, the base PA activated. It was Sam's voice.  
  
"Dr. Chrislyn Orion, to the laser laboratory. Dr. Orion, report to the laser laboratory at once." Something had to be seriously wrong for Sam to still be working on breaking down the laser laboratory. Not wanting to endanger Paris and with the attack looming, Chrislyn made a tough decision. Luckily for her she didn't have to go far to implement it or she might have changed her mind.  
  
"Captain Tainn!" she called to him as he was leading the next group to the escape ships. Tainn stopped momentarily and looked at Chrislyn. Taking a deep breath, she fought back tears as she asked, "I need you to take Paris with you. I have to stay a little longer but I want Paris off this station now."  
  
Paris looked up at her mother, not happy that she they would be separated. "I want to stay with you, Mommy."  
  
"I know you do," Chrislyn said, with a few tears tickling down her face, "but I'll see you when we get to our new home, ok?" Paris was now crying as well as they shared a hug.  
  
Tainn, waited for them to complete their goodbye and then picked up the crying Paris who wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "I'll make sure she's taken care of, Ma'am," he said softly.  
  
Chrislyn tried to pull herself together and turned to Tainn. "You better or I'll have you skinned alive." Tainn smiled and nodded in understanding before continuing to the glider bay. Chrislyn turned her mind to the task now at hand and that was making sure that the Argos laser prototype did not fall into Maldorian hands and invalidate the last three years of work on the laser alone. Walking into the laboratory, she saw Sam frantically working on the computers.  
  
"Chrislyn, we have a big problem," Sam said, out of breath. "Someone's tampered with the laser's deactivation codes. Without those codes, we can't safely destroy it."  
  
"What if we input the codes directly," Chrislyn reasoned. "They probably were only able to tamper with the network connection to the laser." She didn't wait for a response. After placing her journal on one of the work benches, she immediately walked into the laser containment room to begin.  
  
"Chrislyn, be careful," Sam warned. "If you damage any of the energy regulators, we won't have to worry about the station's self-destruct, except that we'll still be here." Chrislyn listened but didn't respond. She carefully open the laser's casing and went to work. She was about to finish inputting the codes when the station rocked violently. Before anyone could react, the containment room began to seal, locking her inside. Sam began typing on the computers in a blind panic, trying to release the seal.  
  
"Sam!" Chrislyn called. "What's going on? Why did the room seal?"  
  
Sam checked the radiation count before answering. "I don't know. I'm not reading a radiation leak anywhere. The explosion must have accidently triggered the sealing protocol."  
  
The station rocked again followed by a alarming PA message. "The Maldorian are in firing range. Auto-destruct has been set at 3 minutes. Proceed immediately to the escape ships. Repeat the Maldorian attack has begun."  
  
Chrislyn looked back at Sam through the glass. "You have to go, Sam," she said reluctantly.  
  
"I won't leave you, Chrislyn," she said with conviction. "We'll leave together or not at all."  
  
"There isn't time, Sam, and you have to continue the work we started," Chrislyn pleaded. "Its our only chance." Sam and Chrislyn looked at each other with tears in there eyes. "And with Matthew gone I need someone to take care of Paris. You need to go now, Sam."  
  
"Chrislyn, I can't just leave you!" Sam argued with her. "I don't leave people behind!"  
  
"You don't have to. Take my journal. Everything I am is in there. When the time comes, you'll know what to do with it."  
  
Sam wanted to continue arguing with her, but there was no time and she knew Chrislyn was right. Saying one last goodbye with their eyes, Sam grabbed the journal and rushed for the glider bay.  
  
Chrislyn slowly sat down and tried to block out the countdown. She thought of Paris and now how she too would have to live without her parents. She had just begun to accept Matthew's death in the invasion of earth three years ago and now she would only be two year older then Chrislyn was when she lost her parents in a car crash.  
  
And Chrislyn Orion cried her last tears alone.  
  
****************  
  
Sam boarded the last escape ship with five others. The countdown gave them just under a minute to achieve escape before the station exploded. The pilot immediately began the launch sequence and Sam strapped herself in, thinking about how she was going to tell Paris of her mother's death. Twenty seconds later, they launched. Sam watched as the countdown approached zero and then turned to look out the window and watch the station explode... but nothing happened.  
  
"Oh God," Sam said in disbelief. She yelled up to the pilot, "We have to turn around! The station's auto-destruct have been stopped!" The pilot hesitated but obeyed, knowing the consequences if the station was captured. They had to trigger it themselves.  
  
****************  
  
Chrislyn had braced herself for the end as the countdown struck zero, but when nothing happened, she became concerned. She frantically thought of a way to prevent the laser from falling into Maldorian hands. Then she remembered what Sam had said about the energy regulators. Upon hearing footsteps, she got up and opened the laser casing once again. The Maldorian soldiers burst down the door to the lab just in time to see Chrislyn place her hand on the main energy regulator. She made her last thoughts, happy ones about Matthew and Paris. Then then removed the regulator and within seconds the lab exploded into a bright flash of color.  
  
****Planet Apollo (April 18th, 2025)****  
  
"I figure Chrislyn removed one of the energy regulators and the chain reaction destroyed the station," Sam finally finished. Both Sharp and Sam sat in a long silence.  
  
Finally, Sharp turned to her and asked, "So how did you become stranded here?"  
  
"When we turned back toward the station, the ship's navigational systems were damaged in the explosion," Sam explained. "We were able to make a semi-control descent onto the planet, but the landing was rough. I was the only one to survive."  
  
"Why didn't you leave through the stargate?"  
  
"The DHD's master control crystal was damaged somehow. With no power and no way to dial, I was forced to try and find another way off the planet."  
  
Just then, Stewart came running back into the main room and starting talking excitedly, "Captain, you have to come see this! It's amazing!"  
  
Sharp looked at Sam, who smiled, before he got up to follow Stewart. He lead him into a large room where Sharp couldn't believe what he saw.  
  
"I have been working the last eight years on repairing and modifying the escape ship. In a few more months it will be ready to fly," Sam said behind him. "With help, maybe sooner."  
  
Sharp smiled. "Sam, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."  
  
****To Be Continued in "Robin's Hood"**** 


	6. Robin's Hood

Author's Note: Special guest star, Dr. Samantha Carter  
  
Content Warning: Violence and Mild language  
  
Robin's Hood  
  
  
  
Journal Entry, June 5th, 2025:  
  
Well against my better judgment I've decided to start another entry in this thing. The last few weeks have been so long given the anticipation of finally getting the SG-1 space worthy. Oh, that's right, if anyone ever reads this they'll probably wonder what the SG-1 is. As we neared refitting Sam's escape ship from the space station, we decided a name was in order. Seeing as how the whole stargate program was started with the original SG-1 and how we all consider this a new beginning, the name SG-1 seemed appropriate.  
  
However, as I mentioned before in other journal entries, the past seven weeks have had their share of trouble. As soon as I got the opportunity, I informed Sam of the situation of a possible Maldorian agent in our midst. We agreed that any sensitive material about the SGC or the SG-1 should be kept from all of us, including myself, until absolutely necessary. The tensions have been high as none of the rest of my team understands why it seems Sam is holding information back from us. I only hope that the completion of the refit in the next few days calms things down or else all of us may be grounded for good.  
  
****Planet Apollo (June 7th, 2025)****  
  
Sharp felt like he had been underneath the panel for an eternity, he was so tired. Sam had divided everyone up according to their abilities, which meant he was in charge of rewiring all of the computers to bypass the damaged systems they couldn't repair. Day after day after day, doing the same boring thing. To add to that frustration, he couldn't seem to get through a single task without at least one person complaining to him about how Sam was handling things. Today was no exception.  
  
"I swear if she gives me one more lame excuse or hollow task to keep me busy, I'll shoot her!" Corra yelled.  
  
"What's the problem now?" Sharp sighed, continuing the rewiring work.  
  
"All I was trying to do was get a feel for the weapon systems," Corra explained and began pacing. "How the hell does she expect us to run the ship if she won't let us anywhere near any of the systems? I mean, outside of you, no one has even been allowed to do anything other than run diagnostics! Why is that?"  
  
Sharp tried to sound reassuring but he was starting to get annoyed by the constant bickering, "I'm sure she has a very good reason, Luke. We all just..."  
  
"...need to get along and everything will be fine once we leave the planet," Luke finished for him. "That's what you keep saying, but I'm getting sick of all this bullshit! We've been here for almost two months now and we don't get out of here soon, I swear I'm gonna go crazy."  
  
"We're all feeling a little cooped up, Luke, but we've got almost all of the systems repaired or rerouted. Hell, if we're lucky we'll be on our way outta here by tomorrow."  
  
Corra stopped pacing and stared at highest part of Sharp not hidden by the panel, the middle of his chest. "You've been saying that for two weeks now!"  
  
Finishing the last wire connection, Sharp slid out from underneath the panel and met Corra's stare and then smiled, "But this time I mean it. Really!" Corra rolled his eyes, let out a disgruntled sigh and walked out. Sharp stood up and watched him leave. We better be underway by tomorrow, he thought as his smiled faded, or this place is gonna turn into a war zone.  
  
A few seconds later the intercom chirped to life with Sam's voice, "Glenn, I need you to meet me in the weapons chamber."  
  
Sharp hit the button to turn his intercom and answered, "I'm on my way, Sam." He turned to head down the corridor to the weapons chamber, hoping that the reason Sam had called him had nothing to do with Corra or any of the other members of his team. Just as he was about to go inside, however, he was blind sided again. This time by Stewart.  
  
"Captain, Dr. Carter is being unreasonable again," Stewart just blurted out.  
  
Taking a deep breath before answering, Sharp turned to Stewart, "How is she being unreasonable?"  
  
"Did you know that even the historical files are encrypted?!" Stewart complained. "I mean, why do that? It just doesn't make sense!"  
  
Sharp tried to choose his words carefully, "Chris, I'm going to talk to her right now. I'm sure there's a good reason and I'll find out what it is, alright?"  
  
Not satisfied with the answer, Stewart left in a huff. Sharp could feel his headache coming back. It seemed to be nagging him constantly for the last month. Sharp slid the key card that Sam had given him into the reader and the door opened. Stepping inside, he saw Sam working on a machine that seemed to resemble a turret. "Please tell me we'll be off this rock by the end of the week or else I'm gonna have to start tying people down to keep them from leading a rebellion." Sam shot him a smile and a 'whatever' look. Sharp couldn't help smiling back, but added, "You know I'm right. The natives are getting restless and I think they're even getting tired of me defending you."  
  
Sam seemed to finish whatever she was doing and closed the open panel on the device. "Well I can do you one better, Glenn. Give me about three hours to teach you how to fly this thing and we'll be out of here by tomorrow."  
  
Sharp gave her a surprised look, "You want me to fly the ship?"  
  
"Well unless any of the members of your team are pilots, its down to you and me and how long has it been since you've flown anything?"  
  
Thinking for a moment, Sharp replied, "I guess about two years."  
  
"Its been over ten years for me, and as much as I like to think I've aged gracefully, I know my reflexes aren't as good as they used to be," she reasoned to him.  
  
Sharp shrugged, "Yeah I guess that makes sense, but how am I gonna learn how to fly a space ship in less than twenty-four hours?"  
  
Sam walked over to one of the computer panel and brought up a picture of the cockpit on the monitor and zoomed in on the controls. "As you can see, the ship was designed with standard flight controls with which you should be familiar. The only thing you should have to worry about is getting used to flying in space as opposed to an atmosphere."  
  
"If you say so," Sharp said taking her word for it. "Anyway, I assume if you had wanted to talk to me about piloting right now, I would have met you in the cockpit, so what's up?"  
  
Sam grinned widely and answered, "I wanted to show you something." She walked over to the device and continued, "I've been thinking about the fact that once we leave the planet, we'll eventually have every destroyer in the vicinity looking for us."  
  
"And this is supposed to help with that?" Sharp asked.  
  
"This is the first working version of the Argos laser," Sam said proudly.  
  
Obviously quite confused, Sharp took a few moments before forming his question, "I thought you said all the blueprints, research and the prototype were destroyed when the Orion Star Station was destroyed?"  
  
Just then Sam got that look that said she figured something big out before saying, "That's what I thought for a while too, until I got to thinking about something that Chrislyn said to me before she died. She said that everything that was her was in the journal and when the time came I would know what to do with it. At first I thought she meant that I would eventually give it to Paris to help her cope with her death, but after a while I found myself reading through it to help myself deal with what happened. It wasn't long after that I noticed a pattern in the writing. After deciphering the pattern I finally figured out what she meant." Sharp could see Sam get excited as she finally explained where all this was leading. "She wasn't just talking about her personal experiences and feelings, Chrislyn had encoded the plans for the Argos laser in her journal."  
  
"And from her journal you were able to reconstruct the entire laser?"  
  
"Well you have to have a grasp of the physics and other the sciences involved to order to make sense out of it, but yeah."  
  
Sharp chuckled a bit, "Glad you're on our side, Sam." Sam just smiled as she looked back at him. "Well if you'll excuse me, I have a mutiny to quell," he joked.  
  
"Just remember," she called as he turned to walk out, "pilot's lesson, tonight."  
  
"Yes, Ma'am," he said giving her one last look before exiting the chamber.  
  
****Planet Apollo (June 8th, 2025)****  
  
They had all gathered on what had been converted into the ship's bridge. Sam and Sharp stood in front of the pilot's cockpit while Davenport and the rest stood across and facing them. "Dr. Carter thought it would be a good idea if I had a few inspiring words to say before we take the ship out. After thinking about it for a few hours last night, and I had plenty of time given that I couldn't sleep, I found out that inspirational words aren't my strong point, but here goes nothing." Sharp tried to put on as serious a face as he could muster before continuing, "When I first arrived here in this time a little over four months ago, I didn't want to accept it because I thought it meant that my whole world had been destroyed and that there was nothing left to fight for, but now I realize as I have watched and lived with all of you during this time, that not only is this fight worth fighting, its a fight we can win!" Sam, Davenport and everyone else began clapping and Sharp smiled. "Now what do you say we blow this lame excuse for a planet."  
  
"Sounds good to me, Captain," Davenport agreed and each of them took stations on the bridge.  
  
As Corra took his place at weapons, he leaned over to Grissom who took charge of the sensors, "What the hell was that crap?"  
  
"Beats me," Grissom shrugged. "But as long as he thinks we bought it, who cares?" Corra just shrugged and turned back to his console.  
  
Sharp got into the pilot's seat and Sam the co-pilot's. "What the hell was that crap I just shoveled over there?"  
  
Sam chuckled, "Well you were shoveling it quite deep weren't you?"  
  
"Thanks for the vote of confidence there, Sam," Sharp smiled and then conducted a preflight check. Everything seemed to check out so he went to check in with the rest of the team, "All stations report in."  
  
"Weapons and tactical, ready," Corra responded.  
  
"Communications and primary systems are good to go," Davenport answered.  
  
"Science stations and secondary systems are functioning normally, Captain," Stewart said.  
  
"Sensors and long range scanners ready," Grissom finished.  
  
Hearing Grissom respond, Sam turned to Sharp, "Looks like we're ready to take her out."  
  
"It would appear that way," Sharp replied looking over the controls. "Strap in and enjoy the ride." He started the engines and gently pulled back on the stick to get clearance of the caves before throwing the ship into full thrust and achieving escape velocity from the planet's gravity. Sharp laughed as he caught looks of green on everyone else's faces except for Sam. "One would think they've never been flying before," he laughed. Sam joined him in the laugh and then took a look at the course they had set. "Preparing to engage hyperdrive," he said punching a few buttons.  
  
"Course confirmed for Planet Ares," Sam responded.  
  
Sharp punched a few more buttons, "Hyperdrive engaged." The ship made a slight jolt as they moved to hyperspeed. "ETA to planet is five hours." He took a look at the star chart and the course the ship was now traveling. Finally, he turned to Sam, "So do you think the SGC base is still there?"  
  
"Well I'm not gonna rule it out, but you know better than anyone how much can change in ten years."  
  
"Yeah. Speaking of which, I have no clue what half of these buttons do. What the heck is all this stuff?"  
  
Sam grinned, and then explained, "Well, shortly after we heard about the Maldorian attack that was coming, the SGC contacted the Asguard to see if they knew anything about them. To our surprise they offered a full alliance. They said it was because we had helped them win their war against the replicators, but most of us suspected they had heard of the Maldorians before and were afraid they couldn't beat them on their own."  
  
"So what happened?"  
  
"Well unfortunately even with all their help we weren't able to incorporate any of their technology before the Maldorians pretty much wiped them out. I guess they figured if we joined forces they might lose so they decided to take care of them before they got a chance."  
  
"Asguard got whooped pretty good then, huh?"  
  
"Well the Asguard, the Furlings, the Goa'uld, and then us," Sam listed.  
  
Sharp got an unenthusiastic look and sarcastically muttered, "Joy. Looks like we've got our work cut out of us."  
  
Just then, Grissom's voice came over the intercom, "I've got a contact changing course to intercept us."  
  
"That didn't take long, did it?" Sharp groaned.  
  
"Not as long as I would have liked," Sam agreed.  
  
"Can we outrun them?"  
  
"Their engines are more advance then ours, so no, but we're smalled so we can try to outmaneuver them if we come out of hyperspace," Sam explained.  
  
"Dropping out of hyperspace," Sharp immediately responded. The Maldorian destroyer followed suit and began firing. Sharp started evasive flying maneuvers successfully dodging some but not all of the Maldorian shots. The few that did hit jolted the ship severely, almost knocking Grissom and Stewart from their seats. Sharp could now feel some sluggishness in the controls and yelled back, "How bad is it back there?"  
  
Davenport flipped on the intercom and responded, "We've lost maneuvering thrusters and one of the engines."  
  
Taking his turn, Corra added, "Standard weapons are having no effect and the aft hull is near a breach."  
  
Sam got up to go back into the bridge area but Sharp caught her arm with his free hand, "Where are you going?"  
  
"I'm going to show Luke how to use the Argos laser," she told him.  
  
"Not yet," Sharp replied, "Its our one tactical advantage and I want to keep it a secret as long as we can."  
  
Turning to face him, she argued, "If we don't use it now, it's gonna stay a secret forever, Captain." Besides the fact that she was right and that her face said she was dead serious, she had called him Captain, which meant it was in his best interest to agree. He let go and went back to flying the ship, which was rocked by two more shots.  
  
Back on the bridge, Sam and Corra activated the laser. "Target the weapons system. If we can destroy it, it might give us enough time to escape," Sam instructed. Corra targeted the weapons and was about to fire, when they took another shot that cause Corra to bump the panel and adjust the targeting. The resulting shot from the laser instead sliced through one of the Maldorian engines, setting off a chain reaction that caused the destruction of the destroyer. But before they could celebrate, the resulting shock wave finally caused a hull breech in the aft hull, causing Sharp to lose control of the ship. The last thing Sharp saw before blacking out, was the ship being pulled toward a large volcanic planet, still light years away from their intended destination.  
  
****Planet Hades (June 11th, 2025)****  
  
Sharp slowly opened his eyes. He looked up to see the blurry image of someone sitting next to him and placing a wet cloth on his head. He tried to say something but found himself too weak.  
  
"Don't try to move or talk," a female voice told him. So the person was female. This was progress. It definitely didn't sound like Sam, but it did sound familiar. He tried to focus his eyes to now get a decent image of who was tending to him. He could make out shoulder length blond hair but the rest was a blur. The woman softly touched his wrist, he assumed to check his pulse. The touch felt familiar to him as well. He listened as closely as he could when she spoke again, "Your ship crashed near our base. You were all hurt pretty badly and we brought you here to treat you. You've been unconscious now for three days. Most of the rest of your team is awake and alert. I'm having someone bring you something to eat, but I need you to just lie here and rest."  
  
He didn't know why, but for the first time since he has arrived in this time, he felt completely relaxed and safe. He gently moved his hand to take hers and for a brief moment, his vision cleared. He eyes fixed themselves on the face of his caregiver and his heart skipped a beat. "Riley?" was all he could get out before losing consciousness again.  
  
****************  
  
Sam waited impatiently to hear about the conditions of the two members who had yet to awaken, Sharp and Davenport. She had actually gotten off pretty easy in the crash in comparison with the others. She was the first to wake up having suffered only a broken arm and a bump on the head which was not serious.  
  
Corra was still bedridden but recovering from a mild concussion and several broken ribs, one of which had punctured a lung. Luckily for him, the people that took them in had one of few remaining skilled surgeons in their company.  
  
Stewart had bounced back quickly, still slowed by his broken leg and unable to talk with his jaw wired shut, he was already working to see if the SG-1 could be salvaged. It would probably never fly again, but the spare parts would be invaluable to them and their hosts.  
  
Still isolating himself from the rest of the group, Grissom chose to heal while learning as much as he could about his surroundings. He took as many liberties as were afforded him to walk around the base and in some instances did engage in short conversations with the base personnel. The doctor had told him to take it easy, given that he had some mild internal damage to his kidneys and liver from the crash, but Grissom had ignored him.  
  
Which left Sharp and Davenport. They had the most serious of the injuries. Sharp had a severe concussion and several broken bones. The doctor had stopped any internal bleeding and the damaged organs would heal, but it would take a least a few months before he would be able to walk around on his own. Davenport was in even more serious condition. The doctor has to completely remove one of his kidneys and he hit his head bad enough that he would almost certainly have brain damage. That is if he survived. His entire body was swollen from broken bones, including a few vertebrae, and bleeding and the doctor was surprised he had survived this long.  
  
The door to where Sharp and Davenport were resting, opened and Sam stood in anticipation and fear of what Paris Orion was about to tell her. "How are they doing, Paris?"  
  
Paris walked up with a melancholy look and gave Sam a hug, careful not to hurt her injured left arm. "Captain Sharp was awake briefly. I gave some food to the nurses in case he wakes up again and can eat." She paused for a moment.  
  
"And John?" Sam pushed.  
  
"I honestly don't know how he is hanging on, Aunt Sam. The doctor says that everyday that he survives is a miracle. The longer he hangs on, the better his chances, but no one is optimistic." Sam and Paris comforted each other, both of them happy to see each other, but saddened by the news they had exchanged. Paris has thought both her mother and Sam dead for many years now and when Sam reappeared, for a brief time she had hoped her mother was with her, only to grieve her mother's death again as Sam confirmed her mother was aboard the space station when it exploded. They had shared many of these moments in the past few days and like always, there were no shortage of tears.  
  
****Planet Hades (June 15th, 2025)****  
  
The last four days had seemed to blur together for Robin Michaels. She had spent most of her time assisting the doctor in treating the two severely wounded men and left most of the day to day operations of the rebel base to her second in command. If anyone had asked her why, she probably could have come up with a plausible enough reason. Perhaps it was a show of good faith in return for their help the past few days. Yeah, if anyone asked that excuse would do nicely. The truth of the matter was, however, she had felt a connection with the man they called Glenn Sharp from the moment they had brought him into her base. Her curiosity had gotten the better of her and she found herself checking in on his condition repeatedly over the first few days. Finally, she took an active role in his treatment and care, stopping only to rest herself when the doctor ordered. She needed to ask this man so many questions and that number had only gone up when he briefly opened his eyes and called her Riley. How did he know her mother's name? Did he know what had happened to her? Was this man sent by her to reunite them? She had seen pictures of her mother when she was Robin's age. They could have been almost identical twins they looked so alike. Her mind could not help but ask if this man had mistaken her for Riley, wouldn't it stand to reason that he would have to know her mother to mistake her for her mother? He had to know her, didn't he? And so here she sat tending to him again, waiting for him to wake up and answer all of her questions.  
  
Carefully opening his eyes, Sharp once again looked up to see the beautiful face of the one he had missed so much. Forgetting all logic and explanation, Sharp convinced himself it had to be Riley. He reached out and wrapped his hands around one of hers and smiled.  
  
Robin had been lost in thought and the sudden movement by Sharp startled her. She quickly snatched her hand back and jumped off her chair. She stood in shock for a few seconds before composing herself once again and noticed the confused look on Sharp's face. Sitting back down she decided the best thing to do was to take his hand back and carefully explain what had happened and who she was. "Captain Sharp, everything is fine. You're are going to be ok. You've been unconscious for the last seven days. We saw you ship go down and we brought you and your team here to treat you. My name is Robin Michaels, I'm the base commander." Robin paused to let sink in what she had told him so far.  
  
Sharp tried to process what she was saying, but it was difficult. Her voice, her face, her touch all reminded him of Riley. He just wanted to believe so bad. He let go of her hand and looked around to figure out where he was. He noticed that the room he was in seemed to carved out of what seemed to be a much smaller opening. He also began to realize how hot the air around him was. Wanting to get a better look around he tried to sit up, but a surge of pain throughout his body, prevented it.  
  
"Don't try to move, Captain," Robin urged him. "Your injuries are serious. The doctor says you won't be walking for at least another month."  
  
"My team..." Sharp asked with difficulty.  
  
Robin filled him in on the conditions of his team, taking a deep breath before telling him about John. Sharp felt sick when she told him. So far all his efforts had managed to do was raise the hopes of a few people only to get them hurt or killed. He had good intentions of helping these people in return for their support. Good intentions, Sharp thought. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, someone was once thought to have said and if this place wasn't hell, it was damn close enough.  
  
Reaching for some of the food one of the nurses had brought earlier, Robin asked, "Are you hungry?" When Sharp nodded a bit, she fed him some of it. She desperately wanted to ask him all the questions she had as fast as she could, but even if she did, he was in no condition to answer. This was going to take time. Well, she had waited seven years, what was a few more days?  
  
****************  
  
"Aunt Sam!" Paris called after Sam on her way to find Stewart.  
  
Sam turned and smiled at her, "I think you're old enough now that you can just call me Sam, Paris."  
  
"What? You don't like it?" Paris asked, a little hurt.  
  
Sam saw the hurt in her eyes and shook her and chuckled a bit to reassure her, "No it's not that. It's just I'm not really your aunt."  
  
"True, but neither was Aunt Riley," Paris replied, "but mom used to tell me stories about all her relatives, all those aunt and uncles and cousins, and I knew it was something I wanted. I had barely gotten to know them when they died and since you, mom and Riley were so close I figured it would be the closest I got to that big family. And now with Riley missing..." Paris tried to hold back tears  
  
Wrapping her arms around Paris with a few tears of her own in her eyes, Sam told her, "You can always think of me as family, Paris. And you can call me Aunt Sam for as long as you want." Sam held her for a few more moments before taking a step back, wiping away the tears and asking her, "Now you came to get me for a reason, what do you need?"  
  
Paris wiped away her own tears and composed herself, "Right, um, Captain Sharp is awake and Robin thought you might want to see him."  
  
"Sure, lead the way," Sam said as if the tear filled moment had never occurred. She took Paris' hand and they walked to go see Sharp.  
  
****Planet Hades (June 20th, 2025)****  
  
Sharp has gained enough strength to talk and feed himself, but any movements beyond that were very painful. He relieved to know that Sam had warned the base second-in-command about the possible security problem with his team and he had seen to the appropriate security measures. At least these people would be safe from any consequences of his actions. He had made up his mind that as soon as he was well enough to travel, he would gather his team and take them through the stargate to continue his search of the planets on the list from earth. He was just finishing his lunch when Robin returned to see how he was doing. He caught himself once again staring at her and had to remind himself that she was not Riley. "I'm sorry," he apologized, "you just look a lot like someone I used to know."  
  
"Riley Fox perhaps?" she asked hopefully.  
  
"Yes," he answered with a rather shocked look on his face. "How did you know that?"  
  
Robin smiled and Sharp almost melted. "Well you called me Riley when you first woke up over a week ago." Seeing the look on his face, she suddenly felt uncomfortable revealing who she really was.  
  
"Oh, I didn't realize," Sharp started before Robin interrupted him.  
  
"No, it's ok. I was hoping you knew her and could answer some questions."  
  
"Well I knew her, but uh, I don't know how many of your questions I could answer."  
  
Now it was Robin's turn to be confused, "I don't understand."  
  
"Didn't anyone tell you where I come from?" Sharp asked with a curious look.  
  
Robin shook her head and responded, "I haven't talked too much to your team, I've uh... been occupied with other matters."  
  
"I see," Sharp replied and then proceeded to explain what had happened to him and who he really was. "So you see, I'm trying to find out exactly what has happened in the twenty-three years I've been gone."  
  
"How can all of that be true?" Robin asked in disbelief. "You're from the past, before the Maldorian invasion of earth? So I guess that means that Riley didn't send you to find me." She said, greatly disappointed.  
  
"Uh, no." Sharp admitted. "Are you saying that Riley is looking for you?"  
  
"Actually I'm looking for her, Captain Sharp." she said looking away from him. "I have a confession to make to you." Sharp listened intently to what she said next. "Riley Fox... is my mother." The revelation floored Sharp. He knew he should be happy that she had found someone after he had disappeared, but at the same time he finally had to admit the reality that life and his love had gone on without him. He dropped his head back onto the pillow and tried to hide what he was feeling. Robin, however, noticed his reaction and asked, "You were close?"  
  
"Let's just say, we were becoming close," Sharp acknowledged, trying to choose his words carefully.  
  
This peaked Robin's curiosity. "You were... together?"  
  
Sharp laughed nervously at the question. "That's a very loaded question, Robin. We had only been officially dating a few days before it happened but I know that I had been falling in love with her for months before that."  
  
Robin asked the next question uncomfortably, "So you guys... never... um...?"  
  
Sharp quickly tried to set the record straight, "Oh, no... no we never, uh... did that."  
  
He could see the renewed disappointment on her face but she answered his question before he could ask it, "I'm not trying to pry into your personal affairs, Captain, but I had to know. I uh... never knew my father, and mom didn't talk about him much. Then you showed up and I felt such a connection to you..." she said before trailing off.  
  
Sharp didn't quite now what to say. His emotions were so confused at the moment, he didn't know what he was feeling, so he just blurted out, "I'm sorry to hear that, but even if had been together, there is no way I could be your father. I can't have children."  
  
"I understand." The long pause was uncomfortable for both of them. In just a few minutes, it felt like days had passed. The silence was finally broken as Robin got up the courage to ask him, "Do you want to hear about her?"  
  
Sharp smiled, "I would like that very much, Robin."  
  
"And call me Mac, all my friends do."  
  
"Mac?"  
  
"My middle name is Mackenzie and it's a nickname mom gave me."  
  
Sharp chuckled a bit, "Then Mac it is." Robin joined in the laugh and an instant bond was formed.  
  
****************  
  
"Hey Mac! I'm sorry I haven't written you in a while, sweetie. We've had to step up glider maneuvers to get all the new pilots up to speed, so I haven't had a lot of free time. I got your last letter and I'm so proud that your team won the volleyball championship! I wish I could have been there. I do have good news though. Guess where we're gonna make our next maintenance stop! That's right! We'll be in orbit in a few weeks and we'll get to spend some time together. It took a lot of convincing to get Captain Ming to agree, but I miss you so much, there was no way I would take no for an answer. I can't wait to see you and how much you've grown. I really miss you a lot. Tell Uncle Johnathan I said hi and I'll see you soon. I love you."  
  
****************  
  
Robin took the recorded letter out of the strange looking computer. "That was the last time I heard from her. We waited for her ship, but it never arrived. Not long after that we had to evacuate through the stargate because the Maldorians were attacking. I never knew what happened to her and she didn't know where we went. I've been looking for her ever since."  
  
Sharp took her hand, gently pulled her close and hugged her. "I promise you that before this is over, I'll find out what happened to her. For both of us."  
  
Almost as if it had been scripted, Johnathan Tainn, the second in command of the base, ran in, "Mac! We just a strange transmission from the Ares sector."  
  
Robin turned toward him before responding, "What kind of transmission?"  
  
"You're not gonna believe this, but it's a distress call... from Colonel Riley Fox."  
  
****To Be Continued in "If Thy Right Eye Offend..."**** 


	7. If Thy Right Eye Offend

Author's Note: Special guest star, Dr. Samantha Carter  
  
Content Warning: Violence and Mild language  
  
If Thy Right Eye Offend...  
  
  
  
"This is Colonel Riley Fox to any and all SGC personnel. I'm being held captive on a planet codenamed Ares. The coordinates are included as well as gate symbols. I have vital information regarding Maldorian attacks. Please, if anyone is reading this transmission, send a rescue team. This information is cri..."  
  
Journal Entry, August 25, 2025:  
  
It's been two long months since we first received the transmission from the Ares sector. Word quickly spread throughout the entire base and battle lines were drawn. One half for mounting an immediate rescue and the other half for making sure it wasn't a trap to draw out the rebels. As much as it has pained us, Mac and I have kept a level head and sided with the latter. Not that I had much of a choice. Until just a few days ago, I could barely walk. Despite the fact that I have not fully recovered as of yet, I am anxious to continue my search for the hidden SGC base and perhaps the help I need to rescue Riley... if she's still alive.  
  
****Planet Hades (August 25, 2025)****  
  
"She's your MOTHER for Christ's sake!" the young man yelled across the briefing room.  
  
"Don't you think I'm aware of that?" Robin yelled back at him. "But as base commander I have to set the example! We can't risk exposing ourselves every time the Maldorians dangle some long lost loved one in front of us!"  
  
"How can you be so calloused?" a young woman asked.  
  
Sharp decided to field this one, "We're not being calloused. We're simply trying to be cautious. I want to rescue Riley just as much as you do, in fact even more than you do, but if this is a trap we won't be rescuing anybody, we'll only be getting ourselves killed. It's been two months now and we have no evidence she was ever in the Ares sector other than a suspect transmission that could have been forged. Now as much as I hate this, we need hard evidence that one, Riley is in that facility and two, that we can get in and get her out without risking our primary mission. No one person, not even Riley Fox is worth risking compromising our mission." Sharp had to force that last part out. He kept telling himself that if the situation were reversed between them, he would want Riley to do that same thing and she would do it, but the fact of the matter was he didn't know if that were true.  
  
The young man was about to say something in response when Johnathan Tainn entered the room. He immediately walked over to Robin, whispered something in her ear and handed her a folder. He then stood at attention behind her as she looked it over. After a few moments looked back to Tainn and asked, "how trustworthy is the information?"  
  
"This source has never been wrong, Ma'am," he replied.  
  
"What's our window of opportunity?"  
  
"Our best guess is ten days."  
  
Robin thought about it for a few minutes as the rest sat there wondering what exactly was going on with the folder. The room was completely silent until Robin finally said, "I want three operational teams, fully equipped and in the briefing room in three hours." As soon as she finished Robin stood and both she and Tainn left the room without saying another word. Unhappy at this sudden and unexplained change of position, Sharp sat and watched them exit and then got up himself and followed them, leaving the rest of the room to ponder and discuss what had just transpired.  
  
Finally close enough to grab her arm, Sharp did so and spun her around to face him, "you wanna share with me what that was all about?"  
  
"Glenn, not now," she said, obviously not happy. "You'll find out when everyone else does at the briefing."  
  
She tried to walk away but Sharp did not let go. "No, that's not gonna fly!" Sharp said glaring at her. "I just got done telling all those people in there that the woman I love wasn't worth risking our mission to go pull her out and I think I deserve more than some bullshit brush off!"  
  
Robin wasn't in the mood and get right in Sharp's face, "so what, you want a cookie?!" she said sarcastically. "In case you've forgotten, she may be the woman you love, but she is my mother! And even if that was the reason I changed my mind, this is my base and I run it, not you and I will run it the way I see fit! If you have a problem with that, then let me send someone to direct you to the stargate!" Then yanking her arm out of Sharp's grasp, she and Tainn marched off and out of sight, leaving Sharp fuming.  
  
****************  
  
Sharp walked into what the rebels had turned into Davenport's private room. Just the fact that he had survived the first week had given everyone hope that he might survive, but as the weeks drug on and his condition neither improved nor worsened, he simply faded into the background. It seemed that Sharp and his team were the only ones who came to visit him anymore and for Sharp, it was becoming more and more difficult. Somehow, though, it always seemed to put things into perspective for him, and so far, the feelings of guilt for his condition were not painful enough to deter him. "Well, my friend, it seems you won't be my last victim after all. I wonder if there is anything I can do to stop all this. It's just so out of control."  
  
"Was it ever in your control?" a voice asked him.  
  
He looked up to see the face of Paris Orion standing near the door, "do you always eaves drop on conversations?"  
  
Paris dropped her head a bit, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude." She turned to leave.  
  
"Wait, you don't have to go, Paris," he called after her. She stopped for a moment before turning around. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to talk to someone who can talk back," he smiled.  
  
She looked a little confused, "I would think you'd go to someone you know a little better."  
  
"I think it's time we got to know each other a little better, I mean after all, I considered your mom a good friend."  
  
"Well, no offense, but she never talked about you to me. Neither did Sam. I'd never heard of you until you crashed here two months ago."  
  
"Yeah I figured that," he said, nodding his head. "Before we found Sam on Apollo, we'd only talked a few times so I'm not surprised she didn't remember me. As for Riley and Chrislyn, I'm sure there is a good reason why they never said anything about me. They're pretty smart people, maybe they figured all this out and decided that telling people about me was a bad idea."  
  
Paris gave him a funny look before responding, "but wouldn't it make more sense to tell us about you so we could help you?"  
  
"Don't look at me. You're the one who inherited the super brain," he joked. "But I guess you're not the only one who ended up just like her mother."  
  
Paris chuckled at that last bit, "ran into Robin's stubborn streak, did you?"  
  
"More like I got broad sided by it," he corrected.  
  
Her chuckle turned into a full laugh, "well you wouldn't be the first. So I take it she changed her mind about about going to Ares?"  
  
"Yeah, in the middle of an argument about NOT going," he said, trying to make sense of it. "Tainn came in with some sort of folder and that was it. She decided she was going."  
  
"And once Robin makes a decision, you're not talking her out of it," Paris informed him as Sharp nodded in agreement. "But if you love Riley like you said you do, why don't you want her to go? And an even better question, why aren't you going with her?"  
  
Sharp got a concerned look on his face and answered, "because we don't know what we're walking into. Riley was been missing for several years now and all of a sudden she shows up with vital information about the Maldorians? Where has she been? How did she survive behind the front lines? Why draw us to what is essentially a Maldorian stronghold? We've looked at those questions for two months now and we're no closer to answering now then we were when we started."  
  
"So you're afraid that she's going into a trap and that she won't come back," she summarized.  
  
"I'm afraid for everyone, not just Robin," he said, trying to sound convincing.  
  
"But you're mostly afraid for her," she said, not buying it. "It's written all over your face, you know."  
  
"That's another thing you and your mother have in common," he glared at her. "You don't know when to leave something alone."  
  
Paris giggled a bit, "yeah, well in this case I'll take that as a compliment." Sharp couldn't help but laugh at that comment. "So, you wanna talk to me or not?"  
  
Sharp stopped laughing and thought for a second. Realizing that burying it wasn't going to help, he nodded slowly before responding, "alright, I am worried about Robin. If she's too much like her mother, she'll go in guns blazing and take unnecessary risks and in situations like this that's recipe for disaster."  
  
"You think that's what happened to Riley, don't you?"  
  
He looked away from Paris, "I don't know, but I do know this, something doesn't feel right about that distress call." He looked back, directly into Paris' eyes, "bottom line, if I really believed Riley had sent that distress call I would have gone to rescue her two months ago, injuries or no."  
  
Paris' look became disturbed and her voice turned quiet, "you think she's dead."  
  
"All I know is that even if she's alive, she wouldn't have sent that transmission," he said with complete conviction in his voice. "She was too independent, too stubborn to ask for help in a situation like that. Something stinks about this whole situation and what ever was in that folder sweetened the pot enough to make Robin risk everyone at this base."  
  
"Whatever it was, Robin's made up her mind," Paris reminded. "Now you have a decision to make. You can either stay here and torture yourself all over again for things you can't control, or you can go with her and fight beside her." Sharp stood and turned away from her, but Paris continued, "you blame yourself for Riley's disappearance because you weren't there, are you going to voluntarily stand by while the same thing could happen to Robin?"  
  
"So what are you my shrink now?" he asked bitterly. "How do you know what I'm thinking?"  
  
Paris got up and walk up beside him, "there isn't a person on this base who hasn't lost someone, Glenn. After a little while it's not that hard to recognize the expression on faces."  
  
"Did you ever think you could be wrong?" he asked flatly.  
  
Paris kinda smirked at that, "if I was would you be this upset at me?" Sharp just stood there in silence, trying to avoid the question. "You have another two hours before the briefing. Think it over. And remember, we're all in this together"  
  
She turned and started toward the door but stopped for a moment as Sharp mumbled, "If thy right eye offend..."  
  
"Huh?" she turned and asked confused.  
  
"Nothing," he responded and Paris turned back around and left, wondering what that meant. As she left, Sharp walked back over to Davenport. "It's time I took my eyes off the past and concentrated on the present. There is nothing I can change about the past twenty-three years and trying has only made things worse. I only wish I'd realized that a little sooner. Hang on and maybe one day you and me can a good laugh over the whole thing."  
  
****Planet Hades (2 hours later)****  
  
Robin entered the large portion of cave that they used as a briefing room, three hours to the minute dressed in a makeshift uniform and holding a rifle of some sort. Walking to the front she turned and faced the young men and women that had been selected for the mission. They all looked up at her, searching in her eyes for something that would reassure them they were up to the task on which they were about to embark. As each of their eyes met Robin's, they all found a sudden strength and courage, drawing off of her strong belief in each and everyone of them as soldiers and people. After a few moments of silence to assess the room, she began, "approximately three hours ago, we received information that seriously damage our ability to fight the Maldorians. One of our sources on Maldorian battle movements has sent us information that we feel is too important to ignore. Three days ago, the battleship Ra, the Maldorian flagship, docked at a Maldorian space station in orbit of the planet Ares we've designated Beta-1 for repairs." When Robin mentioned Ares, the room became noticeably uncomfortable. "According to our source, once the repairs begin, the target will be stationary for the ten days. Ordinarily, the location of the target would keep us from even attempting any type of mission against the ship or the base, however, there is something else that makes it a necessity. We believe that the Ra is repairing and rearmed for an assault on at least fifteen hidden human colonies and bases in the next month," she paused for a few seconds before continuing, "including this one." The room erupted into worried stares and mumbling. Robin tried to regain control of the room, "which is why we're going to sabotage and destroy the Ra and Beta-1 before they get the chance." The room calmed a little and Robin continued, "I have divided you into three teams and each of you will be given mission objectives before you leave. Are they any questions?"  
  
Stepping out of his hidden location where he listened to the entire brief, Sharp raised his hand, but didn't wait for acknowledgment to begin talking, "Commander Michaels, how can my team assist you?"  
  
When she saw who it was who asked the question, Robin was a bit surprised. Caught off guard, Robin responded, "Captain Sharp, I appreciate the sentiment but we're perfectly capable of handling this mission."  
  
"I never said you weren't Commander, but this affect us as much as it effects you. It's our future too," Sharp said meeting her eyes and communicating volumes more than he said.  
  
Looking at the conviction in his face, it was almost as if she was looking at a completely different man. Not one looking back and living in the past, but one who was dedicated to the present and future of himself and those around him. "Very well, Captain Sharp. I will assign the members of your team to our operational teams."  
  
Sharp nodded and stepped back, "thank you, Commander."  
  
"If there are no other questions..." she said looking around the room that remained quiet. "Then we depart within the hour." Robin walked through the group she just spoke to and right up to Sharp. "Captain, I'm assigning you and Mr. Grissom to Team A with me, Mr. Corra to Team B lead by Mr. Tainn and Mr. Stewart and Sam will join Team C lead by Paris. Any problems with that." The last part was not asked as a question.  
  
Sharp tried not to smile as he answered. She was asserting her authority over the situation and he could understand why. "No problems, Commander."  
  
"Good," she said sternly. "Be at the stargate ready to go in twenty minutes." And with that she turned and was out the door.  
  
He couldn't blame her really. In her position he might have done the same thing. And things would be better between them after they got back... if they got back.  
  
****Planet Hades (15 minutes later)****  
  
The three teams gathered nervously near the gate, making last second preparations for their mission. It was hard to tell if the sweat pouring down their faces was more from the heat or nerves. Sharp looked over at Stewart was apparently pretty absorbed in a talk with Paris. Smiling to himself, he readied his P90 and turned to join his team.  
  
"So you actually lived on a space station?" Stewart asked, impressed. "What was it like?"  
  
Paris grinned and shrugged, "I don't know. I guess it's kinda like living in a big tin can."  
  
"A big tin can?" Stewart chuckled. "Come on, it couldn't have been that bad. I always wondered what it would be like to live in space. All the spectacular things you could see and study." A dreamy look overtook Stewart's face.  
  
"You mean as opposed to being able to walk out in the fresh air of a planet teaming with trees and flowers," Paris replied, unable to comprehend why someone would actually want to live aboard a space station. "A brightly colored sky and the wind blowing through you hair. The light of a new day to wake to and beautifully colored sunsets to watch as the day ends."  
  
Stewart watched her closely as she spoke. He never thought about it that way. He had pretty much taken all that for granted. "It sounds like something extraordinary when you talk about it. To me it's everyday stuff. I guess you get used to it after a while."  
  
"Maybe... but one day, after we've finished off the Maldorians, I'm going to settle down on the most beautiful planet I can find and start that big family I always wanted. The kind my mom used to always talk about," she paused for a moment before smiling widely. "Of course there is still the problem of find the right guy."  
  
Stewart laughed loudly enough that he took a few curious looks. He waited until they lost interest before saying anything, "well I'm sure when you put your mind to it, it won't be that hard."  
  
Paris raised her eyebrows at him, "is that so? And how would you know?"  
  
"Well what guy could resist a girl who can translate virtually every language known including Maldorian, can beat the pants off anyone in chess, and helped kicked the crap out of the greatest threat to mankind?" he smiled.  
  
She blushed a bit, but tried hard to keep it from showing even more, "You'd be surprised, Mr. Stewart."  
  
"Call me Chris," he insisted.  
  
"That's gonna be hard to get used to," she admitted. "That was what almost everyone called my mom."  
  
Stewart heart instantly sank. "I'm really sorry!" he quickly got out. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable..."  
  
"No, it's not like that at all," she tried to assure him, with an embarrassed look. "I shouldn't have said anything. I kinda have a tendency to just blurt out whatever I'm thinking."  
  
"Not always a bad thing, Miss Orion," he offered. "In fact it can make for some interesting conversations," he grinned.  
  
"Or get me into lots of trouble." They shared a laugh. "While we're playing the name game, you can call me Paris. Miss Orion gets old real fast."  
  
"You got it, Miss.... Paris," he caught himself.  
  
Both of them looked over to the stargate as Robin began dial their destination. "That looks to be our cue," Paris said readying her rifle. "Here we go."  
  
Robin finished dialing and after the gate opened, she walked up in front of it. "You all have your assignments," she began. Her face softened a bit as she continued, "I wish I could say I will see you all when we get back, but the fact of the matter is that we've never attempted anything like this before. Some of you may not come back, so if anyone wants to back out, this is the time." She scanned each of the faces as she spoke but she stopped a little longer on Glenn's as she added, "I won't think any less of you." When no one moved to go, she was filled with both pride and regret. They were willing to give their lives for their cause and that was something of which to be proud, but today they might actually be asked for those lives and she would never see those faces again. "Then let's move out! Team A with me!" She turned and walked through the gate, followed by Sharp and the rest of Team A.  
  
****Beta-1, in orbit of Planet Ares (20 minutes later, Team A)****  
  
Sharp made sure their way was clear and motioned for Robin, Grissom and the rest to proceed down the hall and toward the docking bay. "How much farther to the boarding tubes?" he asked Robin.  
  
"We're almost there. Now you know what to do once we get there, right?"  
  
He nodded, "once I set off the charge in the weapons cache, I'll get the hell outta dodge and meet you back at the gate."  
  
"Just remember to wait for my signal. If we do this before Team B and C finish, this will all be for nothing," she reminded.  
  
"I got it," he assured her. Hearing footsteps, all five of them took cover in an adjoining hall and hoped they were headed the other way.  
  
****Beta-1 (Meanwhile, Team B)****  
  
Tainn, Corra and Team B were working there way as fast as they could to the base reactor. Their job was simple in word, most difficult in deed. Plant enough explosives in the reactor room to destroy the station.  
  
"Tainn!" Corra called up quietly. "Don't you think this whole thing has been too easy so far?"  
  
Tainn's face wrinkled up when Corra said that. He was right but he didn't need to say it. "We do what we need to do, whether it's easy or hard."  
  
"I'm just saying we should keep our eyes open for a trap," he retorted.  
  
Tainn looked back at him with disgust, "I always have my eyes open. Now let's move!" With that he took off again for the reactor room, not bothering to see if anyone followed. Despite the gruff response, Corra and Team B did follow. The hum of the reactor was now audible and yet despite being so close to a critical part of the base, there was not no security in sight. "Alright, something isn't right here."  
  
"Isn't that what I just said?" Corra asked. Tainn shot him a look that screamed 'shut up!' and Corra didn't say anything else.  
  
"Ok, I'll go in first. If it looks clear I'll wave you in." Corra and the rest nodded and Tainn cautiously approached and then entered the reactor room. Making a sweep of the area, he came back full circle to the entrance. Tainn still didn't feel right, but if they were fast enough it may not matter. He motioned to the others and they made their way inside. "Start planting the explosives, and be quick about it. Robin can't move until we're done." As they unpacked their gear, however, the entrances began to close and before anyone could escape, they were all sealed inside.  
  
Corra cursed under his breath. "What do we do now?"  
  
With a suicidal resolve, Tainn responded, "we follow the plan. If necessary we go with the station."  
  
"Can we still contact Team A?" Corra wondered.  
  
Tainn looked down at his radio and then back up at Corra, "we'll find out when we're done. If we try to contact them now, we'll exposing them." Tainn was about to turn to help out when he noticed the gas begin to pump into the room.  
  
****Beta-1 (10 minutes later, Team C)****  
  
"I've finished the fourth level of decryption!"  
  
"Nice work, Paris. Chris how much longer can you hold them off?" Sam asked nervously.  
  
Stewart frantically worked at the security console. Luck had been on there side since they had arrived. They caught the control room security team by surprise and had taken them out rather easily. Now the problem was holding off the reinforcements. Stewart was throwing force fields, security lock- outs and any other defensive measure at his disposal. "Possibly another ten minutes, maybe fifteen if I get lucky. How much time do you need?"  
  
"That should be enough," Sam told him. "We've downloaded almost all of this facilities battle plans and we're working on the strategic data now."  
  
Paris' fingers sped up as she wondered, "any ideas how any of us are getting out of here?"  
  
"If all goes well, the sabotage of the Ra should distract them enough to leave us time to escape," Sam responded.  
  
Getting a worried look on his face, Stewart suddenly warned, "damn, they're breaking through! We gotta go now!"  
  
"Just a few more minutes!" Sam yelled.  
  
"We don't have a few more minutes!" Just as he finished, several shot hit the door to the control room. Stewart and the other two members of Team C grabbed their rifles and took cover to prepare for the ensuing fire fight.  
  
****Beta-1 (Meanwhile, Team A)****  
  
Only a few minutes away from the weapons' cache, Sharp looked over the wound on his upper left arm. It was bad, but he had had worse. Putting back on his jacket, he tried to concentrate on his goal to keep his mind off the pain. He hoped that Robin and the others were having just as much luck taking out the engines. Successfully avoiding another security team, he moved stealthily down the hall and in sight of his objective. Taking another look around to make sure things were clear, he stepped up to the security keypad and went to work. He popped open the casing and began playing with wire before finally finding the right combination to release the door. Sliding it open, he greeted by a face he was sure he would never see again.  
  
"Miss me, Captain?" And then Sharp was dropped by laser shot to the chest.  
  
****Beta-1 (20 minutes later)****  
  
"Wake him." The soldier administered the proper amount of drug to bring Sharp around. "Now leave us." The soldier nodded and left. The man giving the orders, dressed in what appeared to be hooded royal robes, approached Sharp just as he was coming around. "Captain Glenn Sharp I presume." Sharp groaned, and tried to shake off the effect of the unconsciousness. "You have become quite a hot topic in my circle in just the few months since you arrived. Lucky for you, as that gave me a reason to keep you alive instead of killing you on site."  
  
Sharp tried to focus his eyes on the man talking to him, but it was all still a blur. "Who are you?"  
  
"How rude of me. I haven't introduce myself. My name is Kelsar. I am the commander of the invasion of the Tau'ri."  
  
Trying to show no weakness to whoever this was, Sharp sarcastically responded, "should I be impressed?"  
  
Kelsar's smile was hidden. "I heard you have a defiant sense of humor, Captain. Unfortunately by the time we're done with you it will be gone. Of course it won't matter as you'll be dead soon after."  
  
"No promises of release in return for whatever you want from me?" Sharp continued the sarcasm.  
  
"I don't like to lie to my prisoners. I find information extraction so much easier when I tell the truth," Kelsar explained.  
  
Smiling, Sharp asked, "I'm going to kill you, so tell me all you know?"  
  
Kelsar's smile left and sounded slightly hurt, "It's much more than that, Captain. In fact I'm going to tell you exactly how this whole interrogation is going to work. I'm going to ask you what I want to know. You'll of course refuse to tell me. Then I'll start taking things that your body has two of. Eventually one of two things will happen. You'll give up the information in exchange for a quick death, or despite our best efforts, you'll slowly bleed to death, in which case we will attempt to find out through other sources."  
  
"Well you're are just a ray of sunshine aren't you?" Sharp said, trying to disguise as best he could the anxiety of the pain he was about to endure.  
  
Kelsar walked over and grabbed a long metal rod before turning back to Sharp, "so let us begin, Captain. What is the exact date from which you were taken twenty-three years ago?"  
  
"Well let's see, you take my mom's birthday, go back about 2 months, do the hokey poky and then go to hell," Sharp spat at him.  
  
"An interesting answer, but unfortunately I don't give partial credit for interesting," Kelsar frowned. Raising the metal rod, he looked it over. "This, Captain, is one of my favorite tools to use during an interrogation. I never could quite remember what its proper name is, but sufficed to say it does its job quite well." Pressing in one of the buttons on the side, a thin nail-like piece of metal slid out at the top. Pressing another button, the top piece splintered into four pieces and then retracted. "I usually like to start with this one. So nice for removing those pesky eyes. Messy, but effective."  
  
Seconds later, Sharp's screams filled not only the interrogation room, but echoed down the halls as well.  
  
****To Be Continued in "An Eye for an Eye"**** 


	8. An Eye for an Eye

Author's Note: Special guest star, Dr. Samantha Carter  
  
Content Warning: Violence and Mild language  
  
An Eye for an Eye  
  
  
  
****Beta-1 orbiting planet Ares (August 25, 2025, Team C, 10 minutes after Sharp's capture)****  
  
They were trapped and they knew it. Everyone except Paris had been trying to hold their ground for over 10 minutes now. Stewart was about to expend the last few bullets he had when a shock grenade roll back to where they were hiding. "Grenade!" was all he could get out before the grenade did it's work. In the instant of the flash, he reached out for the fallen Paris Orion.  
  
****Maldorian Battleship, Ra (Meanwhile, Team A)****  
  
Robin "Mac" Michaels was getting concerned. Neither Team B or C had checked in and they were almost ten minutes overdue. The longer it took for them to complete their tasks, the longer Team A, and especially Sharp would be exposed. She didn't know what it was about this operation but she hadn't felt this apprehensive since her late husband's last mission. The thought of her husband caused her to curse under her breath. Now was not the time to reminiscing.  
  
"Ma'am," started someone, interrupting her train of thought. It was Grissom. "This whole thing is blown. We need to get out of here before it's too late."  
  
Robin shot him a death glare. "IF we do anything, it will be to look for and rescue anyone who needs it. We're not leaving anyone here, do I make myself clear!?" Grissom nodded and backed off a little bit. He was right about one thing Robin knew. The plan was blown and something had gone seriously wrong. It was time to find out what, if she could. She pulled out her radio and broke the ordered radio silence. "This is Alpha leader to Bravo team. Come in, Bravo." The static heard was disturbing. Time to try Team C. "Alpha leader to Charlie Team. Report, Charlie team." Again, nothing. Well there was one other to try. "This is Alpha leader to Havek. Please respond." Robin hadn't been quite sure why Sharp had chosen that code name, something about what he called a comic book. Well that didn't matter now. The worst possible of scenarios passed through her mind. Her team seemed to be the only one not captured... or worse. "Come on, we're finding out what's going on," she said putting the radio away and checking to see if the way was clear.  
  
Grissom got brave enough to pipe up again, "Commander, we're drastically outnumbered and we have no idea..." He was cut himself off when Robin again turned and glared at him. He decided that finishing his thought out loud was useless and he was going to have to save his own skin.  
  
Team A sans Sharp moved out of their cover and carefully started toward where they hoped Sharp would be, the weapon's pod.  
  
****Beta-1 (Meanwhile)****  
  
They waited about a half minute before entering to make sure the grenade has done its job. Their helmets that were apart of their uniform were equipped to filter the effects of the grenades but it was still standard procedure to wait. Even then the team of Maldorian soldiers carefully entered and after moving behind the console where the rebels had been hiding, they checked each and everyone of them to make sure they were unconscious.  
  
"This one's hit, Sir," said one of the soldiers standing over a young woman.  
  
"How bad?" his commanding officer asked him.  
  
The soldier bent over and checked the pulse and the extent of the injury. "She'll need medical attention if she's going to survive. What do we do?"  
  
The ranking officer thought for a moment, looking over at the girl in question. "You know our orders, Pelfry. Now follow them."  
  
"Yes, Sir," he responded, taking one more look at Paris' face before following those orders.  
  
****************  
  
Sharp's cries of pain finally ended as he passed out. Kelsar retracted the rod from what was left of Sharp's right eye. He watched the blood run from the eye socket for several minutes before wiping the rod clean and then signaling for the medic to take a look at him. "Stop the bleeding and dull the pain enough that he can handle it, then wake him again." The medic approached Sharp and went to work. Kelsar meanwhile went to check on the progress of the trap that he had orchestrated for Sharp and his allies. Turning on some sort of communications device, he saw the image of his second in command. "Report."  
  
"We've captured the Captain's accomplices, however the second team was not where our intelligence said they would be."  
  
Kelsar frowned, but it was hidden underneath his hood. He almost ordered him to remove his helmet so he could read his facial expressions and determine his second's intent. "Explain."  
  
"The second team surprised our control room personnel and attempted to access our computer files. We pinned them down and rendered them unconscious."  
  
"Did you find any data crystals?"  
  
"No, Sir. We appear to have caught them before they got any information. What should we do with them?"  
  
"Bring Miss Michaels to me. As for the rest, lock them up like the others. After we're done with Captain Sharp, we'll begin interrogations on each of them. They're bound to have some sort of information we can use before we kill them."  
  
Kelsar's second swallowed hard before reporting the next part, "Miss Michaels was injured in the fight, Sir. We're tending to her, but I don't think she's going to survive without some serious medical intervention."  
  
That was unfortunate. They needed her alive at least long enough to use her as incentive to get Sharp to talk. "Stabilize her and bring her here as soon as it is reasonable safe. Make sure she stays alive long enough for us to use her." The second nodded and his picture faded.  
  
The medic was just finishing tending to Sharp and was in the process of awakening him. Kelsar approached them just as Sharp was coming back around. "Welcome back, Captain. Shall we continue?"  
  
The pain was still present but Sharp could tell it was reduced. He first clue was that it was bearable. He's second clue was that his sarcastic nature was returning. "So does that mean it's your turn to lose something?"  
  
Kelsar cracked a small smile. "Actually, Captain, there has been a little change in plans. You see I have found one thing more effective than telling the truth when it comes to people of your character."  
  
Sharp did not like the confidence with which Kelsar was talking. So far everything he has said and done was right on the money and it was obvious that mercy was not his strong point. "You wanna get to the point?"  
  
"The point, Captain, is that you are going to watch your friends die, one by one until I get the answers to my questions." Kelsar saw the look of disgust and hatred fill Sharp's face. He decided to stir up the pot a bit more. "Oh that's right, you don't know yet, do you? We've captured Miss Michaels and your allies. You were right to suspect this was a trap. We were quite impressed at how you resisted the initial bait of Colonel Fox. She's not here of course. In fact according to our records she is long dead. But now we have the next best thing thanks to you." He'd let Sharp wonder what he meant by the last statement for a while.  
  
"If you lay even one hand on her, I will make sure I live just long enough to watch every single one of you bastard die," Sharp snarled back. All sense of logic, sarcasm, even decency was gone. He was going to kill this... thing and nothing was going to stop him.  
  
Kelsar's smiled widen as he realized the progress he was making.  
  
****Maldorian Battleship, Ra (Meanwhile, Team A)****  
  
It took a full 10 minutes of ducking in and out of cover to reach the weapon's pod. They were within sight of where Sharp was supposed to be when Grissom noticed something disturbing. "Commander, this looks like blood." Robin turned to see what Grissom was looking at. Grissom showed her bloodstains on the floor. "Do you think it's the Captain's?"  
  
"I don't know," Robin admitted. It didn't look good she didn't add. "Well at least we know he made it this far."  
  
"I thought you said you didn't know if it was Sharp's blood?" Grissom questioned.  
  
Robin turned back to watch the door and wait for a chance to enter. "I don't know if it is, but there would be blood on the floor if someone got shot and I doubt the Maldorians go around shooting each other in sensitive areas like this." Grissom nodded understanding and joined her in looking for an opening. They waited until the coast was clear and made dash for the door. "Well that confirms it," she said looking at the door panel. "Sharp got here and managed to get inside. Now the only question is what happened afterward." She found the right wire combination and the door slid open. Team A stepped inside and found nothing out of the ordinary, which under normal circumstances would be what they expected to find. But these were anything but normal circumstances. "It doesn't look like he made it inside, however."  
  
"Then what happened between opening the door and coming inside?" Grissom asked, a little unsure that he wanted that question answered.  
  
Robin scanned the room looking for even a semi-plausible answer, "I have absolutely no idea, Mr. Grissom. None at all."  
  
****Beta-1 (Meanwhile, Teams B and C)****  
  
Stewart was the last members of the captured assault team to awaken. He looked around trying to get his bearings and discover what exactly had happened.  
  
"Take it slow, Chris. You're going to feel disoriented for a little while, but you'll be ok," Sam informed him.  
  
Stewart realized how right she was as he did try to get up too fast and was forced back down by dizziness. "Oh that was not good," he groaned. "Where's Paris?"  
  
Sam's face turned sour, "They took her a little over twenty minutes ago."  
  
"Where did they take her?" Stewart started to worry. "What are they going to do with her?"  
  
"I think they were going to stabilize her condition," she responded, trying to calm him down. Stewart relaxed a little upon hearing that. She didn't add that it looked like they had more in store for her.  
  
Corra walked over next to see how he was doing. "How you doing, Chris?"  
  
Looking up at him, Stewart answered, "I've been better." He rubbed his temples, trying to make his headache go away. "So what's the story here, guys?"  
  
"They got our team and yours," Corra told him. "With the exception of Paris and Tainn, every member of both teams are in here."  
  
Sam cut in, "we don't know where they took Tainn but we assume it was to interrogate him."  
  
"Did they get the data crystal?"  
  
Sam shook her head, "No Paris managed to hide it before they..." She decided it was best not that finish the sentence.  
  
"What about Team A?" Stewart whispered, changing the subject. He wanted a clear head and that wasn't gonna happen if he was worrying about Paris.  
  
"That's what's strange," Sam told him, "they don't seem to be in any hurry to find them. It's as if they don't know they're here."  
  
"Then Mac and Sharp are still out there," Stewart said hopefully.  
  
"Yeah," Corra said. "Let's just hope they have more luck getting us out than we are."  
  
****************  
  
Sharp looked up to see two soldiers bring in Johnathan Tainn, unconscious and chained and threw him at the feet of Kelsar. "Our first guest has arrived, Captain."  
  
"Just let him go, he doesn't know anything about where I came from," Sharp said, half demanding, half pleading.  
  
"I know he doesn't know anything," Kelsar confirmed. "That's why he's expendable. Now here's the deal. If you tell the truth, I'll let most of your comrades go, I'll need to keep Dr. Carter of course for her knowledge on the Argos laser, but for each lie you tell, I will shoot and kill one of them." Sharp sat defiantly, not wanting to acknowledge him. "So let's begin. What was the exact date you encountered the time inversion wave." Sharp still said nothing, just glaring at Kelsar. "I should warn you, Captain, that no answer is just as bad as a lie, so this is your last chance."  
  
Figuring that he wouldn't know the difference anyway, Sharp decided to fudge his answer a bit to mess with whatever plans they had for the information. "November 11th, 2002." Promptly pulling a laser pistol from his robe, Kelsar pointed it at Tainn's head and fired. "YOU BASTARD!" Sharp screamed as he watched Tainn jerk back and fall dead.  
  
Kelsar turned to look at the modified Sharp, "Oh come now, Captain. You barely knew the man. That's why I chose him to show you how serious about your cooperation. You see, Captain, the mistake some interrogators make is only asking questions for which they don't know the answer. I do not make that mistake. You may attempt to lie to me but you will never know which questions I ask for information and which I ask to evaluate the truthfulness of your answers." Sharp's anger was now searing. "Now, do you want to amend that answer or shall we move to our next guest, which I assure you is someone you do know quite intimately." Sharp could do nothing but stare at the man for whose death he was responsible. "Captain, I need an answer."  
  
"September 27th, 2002," he finally answered.  
  
Kelsar smiled. Another one broken. He loved this stuff.  
  
****Maldorian Battleship, Ra (Team A)****  
  
A search of the weapons pod had turned up nothing and with no clues to indicate what happened to Sharp, they made their next objective trying to determine what had happened to their other teams. Unfortunately that meant they needed to now sneak off the ship and back into the base. And then there was the added danger of someone discovering the explosives they planted in the engine room. If this ship left the base, it wouldn't matter who they rescued, they wouldn't have any where to go.  
  
"Grissom, Johnson," Robin called back, "cover me and Samuels. We're gonna make sure the airlock is clear." Everyone did as they were told and Robin took point with Samuels right behind. They took to either side of the airlock and Samuels hit the button to open it. Robin swung around, rifle ready and entered. The way was clear to the outer door and Samuels rushed up to join her. Repeating those same steps, the door open and Robin checked the hallway. Seeing it was clear, she waved up the rest of Team A and they joined her.  
  
"Where to now?" Grissom asked.  
  
Robin looked around to get her bearings, "we head to the detention area. If they're alive there is a good chance that's where they are."  
  
No sooner had she finished when a Maldorian security detail rounded the corner and spotted them before they could react. "Don't move!" one of the men yelled and they all raised their guns. Robin and her team shot off a few rounds before scattering for cover. One of the security detail was hit but they all managed to get to cover of their own. After a few seconds of exchanging fire, one of the Maldorians finally set off the base alarm.  
  
Robin once again cursed under her breath. Their luck had run out.  
  
****Beta-1 (Meanwhile, Teams B and C)****  
  
"Any luck?" Corra asked Sam and Stewart, who had been working on opening the heavy metal door since Stewart had gotten up and around.  
  
"Not yet," Sam responded in a mess of wires that they had pulled from the ceiling. "For all we know, these wires don't run anywhere near the door controls."  
  
"Well it's all we can do besides sit here and wait for them to come get us, and I not about to do that, Doctor," Corra explained.  
  
Sam looked down at him, "I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm just trying to make sure you don't get your hopes up." She then looked over to Stewart, "try that one, Chris."  
  
Stewart connected two wires and shook his head, "no, that's not it either."  
  
"Damn," Sam muttered. "Try this one."  
  
Corra took up position against the door in the unlikely event he would be able to warn them in time if someone was coming. Just as Stewart connected the two wires Sam specified, the base alarm sounded. Sam quickly shot him a look that yelled 'what did you do'.  
  
"I didn't do it!" Stewart defended himself. Sam adjusted her look to 'are you sure?' Stewart shrugged, "at least I don't think it was me."  
  
"Who cares if you did it!" Corra exclaimed. "Just fix it before they get here!" Sam and Stewart began frantically stuffing wires up into the ceiling when suddenly the door opened partway and then stopped. Stewart, Corra, Sam and everyone else all exchanged looks before scrambling to make sure the way was clear.  
  
"Maybe we didn't trigger the alarm after all," Sam suggested and then stepped out into the hall.  
  
Stewart took his turn to peek outside the cell and then followed, "so what do we do now?"  
  
"Well if we didn't set off the alarm, it must have been Mac and her team," she surmised. "Stewart and I will go back to the control room to get the data crystal. Luke, you and everyone else see if you can find a radio and get in touch with Mac."  
  
"Will do," Corra agreed and they went their separate ways.  
  
****Beta-1, Interrogation Room (Meanwhile)****  
  
The interrogation had gone fairly well so far, Kelsar decided. Sharp was still trying to resist a bit of course, but with the prospect of killing another one of the rebel looming over his head, he was giving him everything he needed.  
  
"Who was in command of the SGC in your time?" Kelsar continued.  
  
Sharp was barely awake. His head kept drifting back and forth, but he was too afraid of what would happen if he stopped answering Kelsar's questions. "General Hammond was in command," he tried stalling. "Second commander of the SGC... after General West..."  
  
"That was not my question, Captain!" Kelsar said sternly. "Perhaps you need some more motivation." He walked over and opened the door to reveal two men who brought in an unconscious young woman. "Perhaps this will help your concentration. You will answer my questions promptly or Miss Michaels dies!"  
  
Sharp looked over and cracked a small smile. "You better get your glasses checked, because that's not Robin."  
  
Kelsar had not actually looked at the girl to confirm her identity. Upon closer inspection, he noticed the error. He pulled the soldier aside and was about to ring his neck when the base alarms sounded. "Miss Michaels must be stirring up trouble," he snarled. "You have one chance to fix your screwup," growled at the soldier. "Watch them until I return!" Kelsar turned and exited the room. It was time to put an end to her meddling.  
  
****Beta-1, Control Room (15 minutes later)****  
  
"Are you sure she hid it in here?" Stewart repeated the question for the third time.  
  
"Yes, I'm sure, Chris. Just keep looking," Sam ordered. Stewart moved to the other side of the room, almost tripping over the dead soldiers on the ground. They had be out gunned by Sam using an abandon laser rifle they had stolen on the way there. The owner wouldn't have had any need for it anyway as she had surprised him and he subsequent fall down a flight of stairs had taken care of him permanently. Stewart linger over the bodies a moment before attempting to remove the soldier's helmet. "What are you doing?" Sam asked him.  
  
"We've never seen what these aliens look like and I want to find out," he explained.  
  
"That's not what we're here for and we don't have time," she argued.  
  
Stewart continued to try and remove the helmet, "it's only gonna take a second. Aren't you just as curious as me?"  
  
Sam turned to face him, "there are more important things, such as finding this data crystal and then finding Paris. Both of which have a clock."  
  
He stopped what he was doing and looked at her, a little ashamed, "you're right." His memory flashed back to seeing her fall after being shot during their fight. Slowly standing back up, he started searching for the data crystal. After a few moment of silence, Stewart had to ask, "she's gonna be ok, right?"  
  
Sam had been trying to keep her mind from dwelling on Paris too much just like Stewart, but the question was enough to put a worried look on her face. "I'm sure she'll be fine," she lied.  
  
Trying to force a smile, "I mean they would want to keep her alive. She would make a valuable hostage and she knows stuff and..." he stopped himself. He wasn't making things better, only worse. He just had to trust Paris was going to be okay. He was so absorbed in worry, he almost completely missed seeing the hidden data crystal. He was about to move on when he realized what he had done and turned back to grab it. "I have it, Sam!"  
  
She broke out of her own trance and hurried over to him. "Alright, get back to the gate and take it back to the base," she ordered.  
  
"What about you and Paris?" he asked, shaking his head.  
  
"This information is too important to risk getting lost," she reminded him.  
  
"Then you take it back and I'll find Paris!"  
  
Sam was getting frustrated. "Chris, we're wasting time arguing about this!"  
  
"Then let's stop arguing and we'll both go!" Stewart said as if it were the most obvious conclusion.  
  
It was obvious he had made up his mind. "Alright, we'll both go, but you'll do as I tell you. I don't want you getting yourself killed."  
  
"Yes, ma'am," he said saluting.  
  
They both got a quick smile and then took off to find her.  
  
****************  
  
They had to lose these guys and fast. They had retreated once again to another set of hallways and returned the fire that had chased them there. Robin took a moment to see where they were and if she remembered the base plans right, they were almost to the detention area. Now all they had to do was get rid of their shadow and they would be in business. That's when Robin felt some supreme being smiling on her. "Grissom, do you see what I see?" she asked grinning widely. Grissom looked in the direction of Robin's stare and nodded. They both took careful aim at the cooling unit and fired. The coolant quickly mixed with the air and all of Team A took cover to avoid injury from the large explosion that followed.  
  
When they were sure it was safe, they first looked around to make sure they were all ok and then into the hallway where the explosion had occurred. The hallway was been almost completely cut off by debris from the ceiling and walls. "Nice job, Grissom," she congratulated him. When he didn't answer, she looked over to notice that he wasn't there. "Where's Grissom??!" she demanded to know. Samuels and Johnson looked back just as confused as she was. "Damn it! Alright, we stick to the original plan. Split up and search the cells. If you find anyone, radio it in." I guess that takes care of who was leaking the information, she thought.  
  
Samuels and Johnson nodded and all three went their separate ways.  
  
***************  
  
Kelsar was on his way back to his ship when he heard the explosion. He knew immediately who it was and what they were trying to do. He quickly yelled to two soldiers to follow him and he turned to return to the interrogation room to grab Sharp before Robin could get to him.  
  
****************  
  
Corra and the four with him had decided that if they were going to be any help to Robin, they were going to need to be armed, which was why they had gone looking for and found the room where the Maldorians had taken their weapons. They were armed again, but it came at a price. Two of them had been fatally wounded in the fight. There was not time to grieve, however. They still had a job to do. He was almost tempted to use the radio and just ask where they were, but that risked giving away where they were to the enemy too, so he decided against it.  
  
The halls had been relatively empty, most likely due to everyone looking for Robin and her team. At least they were relatively empty, Corra thought when he saw a hooded robed figure and two and soldiers escorting him. One of the soldiers punch in something on a keypad and they entered. Corra quickly waved for the other two to follow.  
  
****************  
  
The soldier guarding Sharp and Paris turned to salute Kelsar as he entered. "Prepare the Captain for transport to my ship," Kelsar ordered. "We're leaving!"  
  
"What about this other one?" the soldier asked.  
  
"She's worthless. Kill her," he replied coldly.  
  
Sharp began struggling desperately to get free, "No! I'll tell you whatever you want to know! Just don't hurt her!"  
  
Kelsar ignored him, "after you have disposed of her, sound the evacuation alarm. This station can be the rebel's grave."  
  
The two soldiers with Kelsar went to secure Sharp while the third cocked his gun to carry out Paris' execution. The soldier aimed his rifle and was about to pull the trigger when a gun shot rang out from across the room he fell dead. Several more followed killing the other two soldiers. Kelsar turned in shock and anger to see not only Corra and his group, but Robin as well. In a complete rage, he quickly ran to the computer and began frantically working at the panel.  
  
"Stop him!" Sharp yelled. It was unnecessary as Corra was already moving to subdue him even as he yelled. When he reached him, Corra thew him up against the wall. Robin in the meantime freed Sharp who proceed to head directly to Kelsar. "He's mine!" he told Corra, who then backed away. "Now it's my turn for questions, Kelsar!"  
  
"I won't tell you anything," he said definitely. "You'll just have to kill me."  
  
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," he said, red with anger. Then Sharp grabbed the hood of the Maldorian general and took a good look.  
  
****************  
  
It took Sam and Stewart longer than expected to get back to the detention thanks to the collapsed tunnel left by Robin. "Ok, chances are they have her in one of the interrogation rooms."  
  
"Split up?" Stewart asked.  
  
Sam shook her head, "No, if we split up we have no way to keep in touch with each other. We don't have our radios, remember?"  
  
"Good point," he conceded. "Ok, where to first?"  
  
They both scanned the area, but there was no way to say which area was better than any of the others. "I guess we just pick one and hope we don't get caught."  
  
"Great," he said sarcastically. "Can't there just be some sign that says 'they're in there'?" Almost on cue, there was a loud bang from one of the rooms. Sam and Stewart exchanged very worried looks.  
  
"That sounded like a gunshot," Sam said concerned.  
  
"But the Maldorians use laser," Stewart reasoned.  
  
Sam nodded, "I know. I'd say that just narrowed it down quite a bit. Come on!" Sam took off in the direction of the gunshot and Stewart followed closely.  
  
****************  
  
Sharp and just about everyone else was shocked at what they saw. "You're human!" Sharp stated the obvious.  
  
"Don't insult me, you piece of filth!" Kelsar spat back. "Your species is weak and pathetic. We not only defeated the Goa'uld, but we conquered your mighty Asguard allies!"  
  
Behind them, Robin was tending to Paris who was still unconscious. "Glenn! We need to get Paris home now!"  
  
"We'll be out of here soon, Mac!" Glenn said, not even turning to look at her. "I'm not through with this piss ant yet!" Sharp lifted him off the floor. "It's your turn to answer some questions!"  
  
Kelsar smiled nervously, "You are already dead, Captain! You and your species will perish and they won't even be a footnote in our history! Mr. Tainn was not the first and he will not be the last!" He started laughing and Sharp became furious. Grabbing Corra's pistol, he raised it to Kelsar's right eye. Kelsar stopped laughing and his eyes got wide a few seconds before Sharp pulled the trigger. Sharp let go of Kelsar's corpse and let it fall to the floor.  
  
"What the hell did you do that for!!" Corra yelled. "I thought you were gonna pump the guy for information!!"  
  
Sharp turned to walk toward Robin and Paris. "He was a bastard and he got what he deserved! An eye for an eye!" He leaned down next to Paris, "how is she?" he asked Robin.  
  
"I'm no doctor, but I think she's dying," she responded.  
  
"Ok, you guys take her and get back to the gate, see what your doctors can do for her," he told her.  
  
"Are you forgetting this is my mission?!" she reminded him.  
  
"Mac, your mission is over. Paris needs medical attention we need to get out of here before the rest of us do too!"  
  
Just then Sam and Stewart rushed into the room. "PARIS!!" Stewart exclaimed and rushed to her side. Sharp and Robin moved out the way to give him room.  
  
"We still need to complete our mission or it won't matter who gets off this base, Glenn!" Robin argued.  
  
"That's why I'm gonna take care of it!" he came back.  
  
"Guys!" Corra tried to break into the conversation.  
  
"Not by yourself you're not!" Robin continued, ignoring Corra. Sam meanwhile went to see what Corra was looking at.  
  
"Yes, by myself! There's no sense in anyone else staying!"  
  
"Uh, guys??!!" Sam said, realizing what Corra was trying to tell them.  
  
"You're right, which is why I'm staying to make sure the base is destroyed," Robin decided. "You make sure everyone else gets out."  
  
Corra and Sam couldn't believe they could be arguing at a time like this. "GUYS!!" they both yelled at them.  
  
Both of them turned and yelled together, "WHAT??!!"  
  
Sam started a minute before Corra, "Neither of you have to worry about the base. Kelsar put it on self destruct!!"  
  
"How long do we have?" Sharp asked, coming back to reality.  
  
"I don't know, but I say we move now!" she answered.  
  
Stewart picked up Paris without waiting to be asked and everyone started a mad dash for the stargate.  
  
With the Maldorians all scrambling for escape pods and transport ships, no one was interested in stopping them. As they ran, Sharp turned to Robin, "did you plant the explosives in the battleship?"  
  
"If they activate their hyperdrive, they're done," she told him. He nodded acknowledgment and followed Stewart into the gateroom where they all stopped in their tracks. Slumped over the DHD was the body of Grissom.  
  
Corra stepped up to check his pulse, "he's dead."  
  
"Fitting end for a traitor!" Robin sad coldly.  
  
"It wasn't him," Sharp informed her. "Grissom knew about the third team we sent, but Kelsar didn't. Grissom wasn't the leak, he was just trying to save his own skin."  
  
"Well then who's the leak?" Corra questioned.  
  
"I have an idea, but I'm praying I'm wrong," he replied before moving Grissom's body off the DHD and dialing.  
  
Only minutes after they left, two large and separate explosions were recorded by the rebel base computers in the Ares sector.  
  
****Planet Hades (August 26, 2025)****  
  
Sharp had been up all night waiting to hear the news on Paris' condition. Robin came out from the room where they were treating her. "How is she?"  
  
Tears filled Robin's eyes, "Her organs are shutting down, Glenn. They don't think she's gonna make it through the night."  
  
"Can't they do anything?"  
  
"Unless they can find organ donors, she'll die." Robin then collapsed into Glenn's arms.  
  
They just stood holding each other for what seemed like centuries until the base doctor came out to find Robin. "Miss Michaels... we've found a match to a terminal patient"  
  
"What?" she said confused. "You said the chances of a match to even a healthy person was practically zero! Who is it?"  
  
The doctor looked over to Glenn, "It's Mr. Davenport. He's almost a perfect match."  
  
Even since his suspicions had been confirmed, he had been wondering what to do about him. A through examination had revealed the device inside of Davenport keeping him alive, but that was also sending everything uttered around him straight to the Maldorians. He had been told that removal of the device would mean certain death for John, but they couldn't just leave it active. They would continually compromised.  
  
"What are John and Paris' chances if we do it or not?" Sharp asked.  
  
The doctor look right at him as he answered, "For Mr. Davenport, none. The removal of the Maldorian device will most certainly kill him. Miss Orion's chances if we proceed are 50-50 at this point, Captain."  
  
It was an agonizing decision, but Sharp knew there was only one thing to do.  
  
"Do it, doctor."  
  
****To Be Continued in "The Fox Hunt"**** 


	9. The Fox Hunt

Author's Note: Special guest star, Dr. Samantha Carter  
  
Content Warning: Violence and Mild language  
  
The Fox Hunt  
  
  
  
****Planet Hades (September 1, 2025)****  
  
Robin opened the tunnel and walked down as she did near the beginning of every month. She turned on what little lighting there was and walked through the thin walkway until she arrived at the large opening at the end. The largest in the entire base. Not many ventured down here regularly other than her. Both her and her husband had made a promise after this room was set aside, to visit it in this fashion, so that if no one else did, they would remember. Now, she had to do it alone. Like she had ever since she placed it, she visited the memorial in the front that read, Adam Joseph Michaels. And like she had every month for the last year and a half, she cried uncontrollable tears.  
  
The constant heat of the planet made it impossible for flowers to last more than a few hours, but before he died, Adam had decided that each and every one of the memorials here needed to be honored. Having been told the stories of Knights and heroes of the Middle Ages, he choose to personally forge a sword and engrave the name of the lost 'warrior', as he called them, and bury it up to half the blade length behind each stone. As one of the rituals that she and Adam had preformed each month was the shining and sharpening of the blades. "If these are to mean anything, they must reflect the character of those passed on. Shining beacons and sharp warriors," she would remember him saying. After Adam died, Paris had taken up the task of helping her with the large task, but this time, Paris would not be able to help her. Pulling out the tools she had brought along, she knew she had to be much quicker than normal. She had several more swords to add to this room later that day.  
  
****************  
  
There wasn't a person on the base not dealing with some kind of loss and each was handling it in their own way.  
  
No one had seen much of Robin in the last few days, but that was to be expected. She usually disappeared around this time each month and would always reemerge renewed and even stonger in resolve.  
  
Corra meanwhile spent the days mostly in reflection over losing two more of his extended family. He was only one of four left and he didn't know where Sarah and Christine were. As for Stewart, he didn't know where to start. He didn't know how to deal with his own grief, let alone Stewart's. Most everyone was too busy to notice Stewart falling for Paris, but Corra noticed and even helped him get up the nerve to talk to her before the mission. The way things were now, he almost wished he hadn't.  
  
Sam buried herself in work, decrypting the data on the crystal they had obtained from Beta-1 before the explosion. So far she had discovered quite a bit of information that shed some light on who the Maldorians were and from where they came, but nothing of the nature that would help them even the odds.  
  
"Anything yet?" Sharp asked, coming up behind her.  
  
She shook her head, not looking away from the screen, "not a whole lot. So far all I've been able to pull up is some history on them."  
  
He was a little curious, "like what?"  
  
"Well not much of a different story from the other human civilizations we've encountered. The Goa'uld took some humans as slaves from earth and colonelized the planet. Apparently after a while, they no longer saw it as important and just left. The humans were forced to fend for themselves."  
  
"But how did they get so advanced?" he was dying to know. "I mean, to be able to take on the Asguard, the SGC, the Goa'uld and who knows what else."  
  
Sam turned to face him, "well I wasn't done, Glenn. You see this is where the story gets interesting. The planet they were sent to was on the edge of known territory to the system lords. Apparently another alien race that they had never heard of, visited the planet and took it for their own, reenslaving the people. They called themselves Maldorians."  
  
"Wait, I'm confused," Sharp inturrupted. "Kelsar and his group are called the Maldorians, but they're not alien."  
  
"Well that's where they got the name," she explained. "You see after a while, a plague broke out among the alien population. Before they knew what was happening it had spread to their homeworld and all their colonies, but it didn't affect the humans. They subjected them to numerous grusome medical experimentation and tests, but they never did find out why they were immune. The Maldorians, the real ones, eventually died out."  
  
"And the slaves took all of their technology and a galatic size grudge against the universe," Sharp concluded.  
  
She nodded in agreement, "they were outraged that races such as the Asguard did nothing to help them. According to their military 'philosophy' which amounts to a lot of anti-alien propaganda, they are quote 'morally and evolutionary superior and are officially at war with every known race.' And from some of the things they say about earth, that includes humans."  
  
"What do they say?"  
  
"Oh just we're a unevoled lesser species that is too weak to have the right to exist."  
  
"Yeah... ok... that would explain a few things. Like massive psychotic behavior." Sam gave him a crooked smile and nodded. Then Glenn changed the subject. "So all this took place in twenty years?" Sharp had to ask.  
  
"That's what I don't get," she responded, shaking her head. "As near as I can tell, the Maldorians died off at least two hundred years ago. Now granted it probably took them some time to learn how to use their technology, but there aren't any plans for the invasion of any planets until a little over twenty-five years ago."  
  
"Well that doesn't make any sense. What could they have been waiting for?" he wondered.  
  
"Well if I find anything out, you'll be the first to know, Glenn," she responded.  
  
Sharp softened his voice, "anything about Riley?"  
  
Sam shook her head, "no, I'm sorry."  
  
He dropped his eyes in disappointment. Just then, a young man walked into the room, "she's ready, Captain, Doctor."  
  
"Thank you," Sam replied. "Come on, Glenn," she said taking his hand as a mother would a child. He got up and followed her down into the tunnel.  
  
***************  
  
Sam and Sharp were the last ones to arrive but most people cleared the way to let them up toward the front. Robin stood facing them, behind a table with several swords lined up side by side, each with the name of one of those who had died in the past week. "We have gathered to honor the memories of those who gave their lives to protect our right to survive," she began. "To make sure these names are never forgotten, we place these memorials here in this hallowed place and mark each of them with these sharpened blades as a symbol of their warrior spirit." Robin paused for a moment and then explained what would happen next, "as I call each name, anyone who would like to say a few words may do so." Robin picked up the first sword, "David Justin Rupe." Several of David's friends stepped forward, mostly talking about the things they would miss most about him and at his courage to have volunteered for the dangerous mission that took his life. Once she was sure no one else would step forward, she picked up the second sword, "Aaron Christopher Piatt." Again, several people spoke of bravery by Aaron, but this time, unlike David, several of those people had to console a grieving widow, left behind by the young man. A few more minutes of silence before Robin called the third name, "Paul Alan Grissom."  
  
Most of the people there did not have much of an opportunity to get to know Grissom and some were very resentful of how he left Robin and her team high and dry to save himself. The same raised a lot of controversy about whether or not he should even be included in the ceremony. It was at Sharp's insistance that he was included. Despite his flaws, he had fought along side Glenn and his team bravely. Sharp stepped forward to say a few words, "I know most of you didn't get to know Paul. He was the type of person who tried to keep to himself and I can relate to that quite a bit. That didn't make him a bad person. He shouldn't be remembered as a man who made a mistake in the last few minutes of his life, but as a man who was human and lived his life the best he could. He saved my life more than once and I know that Luke can say the same. He belongs here." With that, Glenn stepped back and allowed Corra to say a few words that echoed Sharp's.  
  
Once he was finished, Robin picked up the next sword, "Johnathan Michael Davenport."  
  
Sharp again stepped forward. "The thing I'll most remember about John was the fact that you just couldn't get the guy down. Something bad would happen and he's find a silver lining to it. That's how he lived and how he died. I have no doubt that if he'd be able to make the decision to sacrifice his life for Paris he'd have done it in a heartbeat. He was one of the best guys I've known and I'll miss him a lot." He stepped back, wanting to say more but knowing he'd never make it through it all. Immediately after Sharp ended, Corra said a few things about knowing John from childhood and what that meant to him.  
  
Finally, Robin, with tears in her eyes, picked up the last sword, "Johnathan William Tainn." Robin waited for some of the others to speak before she began. "John became the one who tempered my strong will after Adam died. That's why I made him my second-in-command. He may not have always had the leadership skills involved or the know how to run a base, but he had those intangibles that I lacked. And he was a good man. A kind man. I remember when mom and I used to visit Aunt Chris and Paris. He used to always play chess with us when mom was busy. Even though he knew he could never beat us. We sit there, two little girls who could beat a grown man at an adult's game." The tear were really flowing now. "He was like a father to me." It was obvious she had more, but she couldn't continue. Sharp stepped up to hold her and Sam took the sword from her hand drove it into the ground behind his memorial.  
  
With the ceremony completed, Corra, Sam and the rest filed out of the room solemly, leaving Robin and Sharp standing alone.  
  
"I'm sure Paris and Stewart would have wanted to be here," Sam commented.  
  
Corra looked up and managed to catch enough of what Sam said to respond, "Well Paris can barely eat on her own, let alone be moved all the way down here and you know how smitten Chris is. If we didn't drag him to his bed every night, he'd never sleep. Never mind the fact that after a while he made us give him a bed in the infirmary so he could sleep near her."  
  
Sam let out a muffled laugh, "he does have it bad doesn't he?"  
  
"Dr. Carter, Chris doesn't just have it bad, he has the absolutely worst case I've ever seen. I'm just glad Paris is gonna be ok. I don't think Chris could have taken it if she hadn't."  
  
Sam and Corra tried their best to the put the day's sorrowful moments behind them as they continued to discuss the budding relationship between Paris and Stewart.  
  
****************  
  
Robin and Sharp, meanwhile, stood holding each other, trying to fill the empty places that been opened in them. "So many people gone, Glenn," she said just staring out.  
  
"I know, Mac," Sharp replied softly.  
  
"I know what we're doing is necessary, but I'm just tired of all losing all my friends. My mother is gone, I never knew my real father, Chrislyn's gone, we almost lost Paris, and now my foster father is gone."  
  
Sharp tilted her head up toward his, "Robin, I know how hard it is to lose people and I can tell you you'll feel it for the rest of your life, but your life has to go on. You have a mission and these people gave their lives for that mission and before it's over more people will do the same, but the thing that has to remain alive is the fight to end all this. As long as we do that, then all of this means something." Sharp stopped there. He was beginning to sound like a sappy movie, but when he looked at Robin, he could see it had helped a little. He saw a little spark return to her eyes and he could have swore that he was looking right back at Riley. He managed to hold back his own tears of loss.  
  
"You're right, Glenn," she finally said. And then within a few seconds, it was as if nothing bad had happened at all. Robin gave Sharp a firm hug and then turned to leave, pausing for a second, waiting for him to follow. "You coming?"  
  
"In a second," he nodded. "Go ahead without me." She frowned a bit but then exited as he asked. Sharp walked over to one of the memorials and read the name. Riley Revelin Fox. The flood of memories washed over him. He smiled remembering when they first met and how completely oblivious they were to everything else around them. And he remembered the nights he spent trying to help her through the pain and guilt of her brother's drowning. He had admitted on one occasion that he cared for her, but not that he was in love with her. Then he cried, as he thought about all the missed opportunities he had to admit his feelings. The day they finally admitted their feeling for each other, reawoke in him a part of his spirit he thought long dead. But only days later all that was taken away from him and finally after all these months, he could feel it breathing its lasts breaths once again. It lived only to inspire him to make sure that he could make the people who took her from him pay for what they did. He lightly kissed the tips of his fingers and ran them across the engraved letters. "I miss you," was he could think to say.  
  
He then stood and turned to leave, just as one other memorial caught his eye. The name triggered his memory back their mission on the Ra. He hadn't told anyone anything about how he was captured. The main reason being that he wasn't really sure himself. He remember vividly the face he thought he saw, but it just wasn't possible. He had to have been wrong. Chris and the others had buried Harris and they wouldn't have lied to him about it if they hadn't. Or would they? But even if they hadn't, that still didn't explain how he could be alive. Sure the Goa'uld had technology to revive the dead, but why come back to revive a guy like Harris. Sharp didn't believe him to be a traitor, but even if he was he was useless to the Maldorians. He couldn't rejoin Sharp and his team and he didn't really have any useful information. Sharp just couldn't make it add up to a logical conclusion. He thought about telling Sam or Robin about it, but good would that do? No, this was unimportant right now. There were more pressing concerns, such as finding out everything on that data crystal. He shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind and left.  
  
****Planet Hades (September 13, 2025)****  
  
Sam moved as fast as her fifty year old legs could carry her and practically knocked over a young man who was just turning a corner. "Sorry about that," she said as she helped him off the floor and then dashed off again, looking for Robin and Sharp. The excitement inside of her was showing through every part of her body and she found it hard to keep it to herself, but she knew she should inform the base commander and let her decide who should know. As for Sharp, he had just as much a right to know as Robin, seeing as how she was actually a part of his team and not officially part of the base staff. She dodged around a few more people before finally making it to where Robin usually was, the war room. Unfortunatley for Sam, this was one of the few times she wasn't there. Sharp, however, was and she couldn't keep this to yourself anymore. "Glenn! Can I talk to you for a minute?" she said a little too excited.  
  
"Uhhhh, yeah... sure," he responded somewhat unsure. Then Sam motioned to a empty room just off the main war room and Sharp got really confused. Following her inside, he finally had to satisfy his curiosity. "Mind telling me what's going on?"  
  
Sam closed the door behind him which earned her an even further look of confusion. She decided she better not delay any longer and handed over the folder containing the reason for the excitment. "Take a look," she said.  
  
Sharp opened the folder and looked over the contents. He first glanced over a few photos of what looked like the next generation of the X303. Then he noticed a couple of pages of text and began reading. After a few moments, he looked up at Sam, "I'm not sure I follow, Sam."  
  
"Well don't you see?" she asked and it was then obvious he didn't. She took one of the pictures and began explaining, "This is the TFC Victory. According to what I decoded, she was spotted by a Maldorian destroyer, coming to dock with Space Station 14 in orbit of planet Hera. Now that was a supply station, so we can probably assume they were there to resupply." Sharp nodded agreement and Sam cotinued, "the Victory immediately set an intercept course to protect the colony, but as you know, our ships weapons were not match for Maldorian shields."  
  
"So the ship and colony were destroyed, how is this good news?" Sharp questioned.  
  
"But that's just it, Glenn," she shook her head. "The last transmission the destroyer sent said they had suffered massive damage and were abandoning ship. They requested reinforcments to finish the job."  
  
"Wait a minute..." he interrupted. "You're saying the Victory was able to take out a Maldorian destroyer without an Argos laser?"  
  
Sam nodded, "Exactly. Unfortunately it looks like they didn't get out unscathed. The destroyer also said they had caused enough damage to take out their hyperspeed engines and their life support."  
  
"Which means?"  
  
"Well it means that since they weren't there when those reinforcment arrived, that they used conventional drives to leave the area. Now let's assume for the moment that they set down to make repairs somewhere, if we can find out where, there may be some clue as to where they went after making those repairs. And where's the first place you would go if your plane were badly damaged and needed to be resupplied?"  
  
Sharp smiled, "I would head back to the nearest friendly base." Then he thought about the odds of them finding anything useful, "I don't know, Sam. That seems like an awful long shot."  
  
"Well do you have something better, Glenn?" she asked him frankly.  
  
"No, no I don't" he shook his head. "Let's run it by, Mac and see what she thinks."  
  
Sam smiled now, "my thoughts exactly."  
  
"Run what by me?" Robin asked as she entered the room.  
  
Sam snatched the folder from Glenn's hand excitedly and handed it to Robin. "Take a look at this." Robin looked over the folder and her look steadily turned from curious to concerned and then to visably upset. Sam and Glenn suddenly became concerned as well but Sam was the first to say something, "is there something wrong, Mac?"  
  
Quickly composing herself, she looked up at Sam and responded, "nothing. So what did you want to ask me about?"  
  
Sharp and Sam exchanged looks and decided they would ask about it later. Sam then explained to Robin what she had just finished explaining to Sharp. "Glenn and I think it's worth a shot. What do you think?" she finally asked.  
  
"I agree," she nodded, "which is why I'm going with you."  
  
A little startled by that, Sam replied, "well I didn't mean you had to come. I just thought, you know you'd assign us a few people and we'd go hunting."  
  
"And I decided I'm going, now you can either accept that and come along or I'll pick someone else, Sam."  
  
"I don't have a problem with it," she quickly stated to settle things down. "Do you, Glenn?"  
  
"No problem at all," he agreed.  
  
"Ok then. Get five teams ready, we leave for the most likely worlds in two days." And with that, Robin dropped the folder and exited the room, leaving Sharp and Sam completely speechless.  
  
****Planet Hades (September 15, 2025)****  
  
Robin had been avoiding Sharp all week and he wasn't sure if it was intentional or just coincidence. Either way, he needed to talk to her. Something about their mission today had upset her and that worried him. Right about then, Robin emerged from the war room and started to get everyone's attention. "You've all been assigned to one of five teams. Your objective is to look for evidence of where this ship, the TFC Victory, landed to make repairs. Once you have done that or have throughly searched your planet and found nothing, return here. Once we have located the right planet, we will send in a team of experts to try and determine the Victory's course from that planet. Are there any questions?" The room was silent. "Very well then. Team Alpha will depart once we reach the gate. Teams Beta through Epsilion will depart one at a time, in five minute intervals to their destinations. Dismissed."  
  
Sharp moved forward to grab her before she got away. Robin, however, saw him coming, "Not now, Glenn."  
  
"Then when?" he almost demanded.  
  
"Later. When I'm ready," she said in a warning tone.  
  
Sharp decided not to back down, "and when will that be, Mac?"  
  
"When I say I'm ready!" she told him, daring him to continue. Sharp was about to accept the challenge when he thought better of it and let her go. They were both on Team Alpha with Sam and there would be time for this later.  
  
****************  
  
The trip to the gate had passed in uneventful silence. The five, three-man teams assembled and readied their gear. They didn't expect the Maldorians on any of the planets they would be searching but you could never be too careful. Sharp watched as Robin dialed and then as the gate opened, he walked up the steps with Sam beside him. Robin joined them a few seconds later and they stepped through.  
  
****Destination Planet #13 (September 30, 2025)****  
  
Sam was leading Sharp and Robin by at least five hundred feet, scanning for any traces of a ship ever having landed. Team Gamma had returned five days ago with a promising lead, but it turned out to be the remnants of another ship lost in a battle sometime before the Victory. Everyone else had come up completely empty so far. This was Alpha's second planet search and so far it didn't look promising. Sharp meanwhile, had yet to get Robin to open up to him.  
  
"You getting thirsty?" he asked her. The desert sun had been beating on them for hours now and all of them were quite parched. This was a good a way as any to try and start up a conversation. Robin, who was like her mother in almost every way, just shook her head. "You sure?" he pushed.  
  
"I'm fine," she said flatly.  
  
Well if that didn't sound like Riley, he didn't know what did. "You know you need to keep your fluids up out in this sun."  
  
"I told you I am fine," she said trying to move ahead of him.  
  
Sharp kept pace, however, and placed the canteen right in her path, "drink some. Now!"  
  
Robin snatched the canteen and definately slung it over her shoulder, "did you annoy my mother like this too?"  
  
"When she wouldn't talk to me? Yes, yes I did," he replied. "Now look, something is wrong and it won't get better if you just bottle it up."  
  
"It's none of your business, Captain," she said bluntly. "Just because you knew my mother doesn't mean that you can act like my father."  
  
"I'm not trying to act like your father, Mac," he said defensively. "I'm trying to be a friend."  
  
"Well I don't need you to be either right now. I'm perfectly fine." If Sharp hadn't known better, he could have swore he was dealing with Riley in one of her stubborn moods. She had the looks, the one word vocabulary of 'Fine' and the walk away all down pat. She was definately her mother's daughter. Luckily for both of them, Sam cut them short.  
  
"Glenn, Mac, I think I've got something!" she shouted back.  
  
Sharp and Robin both jumped at the distraction from their current conversation. They walked up to see what Sam had found. Sam was just picking up the piece of debris lying in the sand as they came up next to her. "What do you think?" Sam asked them.  
  
"You tell me, Sam," Glenn responded. "All of this stuff was built while I was gone."  
  
Robin was about to comment as well when she noticed something reflecting the sunlight right into her eyes. She started walking toward it, slowly at first and then picked up the pace. Before long she had reached what had cause the distraction. She quickly began digging around the seemingly endless metal object. Sam and Sharp, just a little concerned at what they saw, ran after her. "Something up, Mac?"  
  
Robin looked up at them, "hand me that piece." She took it from Sam before she could actually hand it to her. Placing it against the large buried metalic object. They bore a striking resemblance and all three looked at each other with curious and hopeful looks.  
  
****Destination Planet #13, Victory excavation site (October 24, 2025)****  
  
The excavation of the Victory was going well enough that they had uncovered a hatch into one of the main halls in less than a month. It had been decided that Robin, Glenn and Sam would be the first ones on board to look around. Almost immediatly, Robin headed to the main computer and tried to restore power.  
  
"You certainly know your way around, Mac," Sharp noticed.  
  
"I should, it's my mom's ship," she finally admited.  
  
Sam and Sharp exchanged looks of 'so that's what it was'. Sam decided to go check on the primary systems while Sharp moved over to try and give Robin a hand. "So that's what you were being so secretive about?"  
  
"I told you it was nothing you needed to worry about," she said, eyes still on the console. Despite years of being slowly buried under the sand, the console quickly chirped to life and minimal power was restored. She then immediatly started through the ships files.  
  
"Pull up the Catain's logs, Mac," Sharp told her, unsure if that's what she was doing or not. "Let's see what happened to cause them to abandon their ship like this."  
  
Robin continued what she was doing. "Later," was all she said. Sharp stepped over and cancelled her search through the files. Robin turned, furious at him, "what the hell do you think you're doing??!!"  
  
"Mac, I want to know just as much as you do about what happened to Riley, but we have to have priorities," he told her. "At the moment, those priorities have to be what happened to this ship and her crew. ALL of her crew."  
  
Robin just glared at him for a few minutes before letting out a deep huff, "fine, you do it yourself then." With that, Robin stormed off to another part of the ship.  
  
Sharp felt bad for her. Partly because he sympathized with her over Riley. He wanted to know just as badly about what had become of her, but most of it was the fact that she had spent so much of her life without her parents. Robin had opened up to him about how all Riley had told her about what happened to her father was that he died in the initial Maldorian attack on Argos. What Robin couldn't understand was why her mother was so secretive about her father's identity. Did it have to do with her being ashamed of having been with him? Perhaps he had rejected her when she became pregnant. But at the same time, when she spoke of him, she always spoke highly and there were several times she would hear her mother crying in a seperate room she always kept locked. One day she broke into that room to find several medals and uniforms that obviously belonged to a male officer. Sharp was determined to make it up to her. When he first started out on this quest, he set his final destination as Argos to discover what had happened to that first colony and maybe find a way to prevent it. Now he had a better reason. He was going to help Robin come to terms with her parent's fates and do everything he could to ease that pain.  
  
Turning his attention back to the task at hand, he began a search on the official Captain's log and began looking through the last few entries.  
  
****************  
  
Robin carefully stepped into the musty quarters. She turned on the lights and what she saw immediately brought tears to her eyes. The walls were lined with pictures of Robin as a child, in her volleyball uniform, with her dolls, and just about every other picture a mother could treasure. Walking over to the bed, she picked up a teddy bear that was lying on the floor near the bed. Attached to it was a ribbon holding on an envelope with the name "Mac" on it. She undid the ribbon and open the envelope to reveal a birthday card inside. The tears were now streaming down her face, so much so that when she opened the card, her eyes were too blurred to read it. It didn't matter to her though what it said. All it was now was a reminder of a love taken from her when she needed it most. She tossed the card aside and craddled the bear in her arms as she rocked back and forth. Until now she had been able to deny it, but there was no denying it now. Her mother was gone for good.  
  
****(Several hours later)****  
  
Captain's Log, June 25, 2019.  
  
We've been traveling on conventional drives now for over a week, but our engineers say that unless we stop for repairs soon, we'll ruin those drives and be left adrift. We've located a desert style planet we're hoping will provide us cover from Maldorian scanners due to high magnetic fields in the rock faces. Unfortunately, with half the crew dead or injured, repairs will be slow. Our only defenses remain the handful of gliders that survived the battle with the destroyer but without Colonel Fox to lead them, I doubt they would even be much of a distraction. Crew morale is low everyone is tired from pulling double and triple shifts, but if we don't get back to a friendly base soon, I doubt we'll make it back at all.  
  
Captian Chun-yu Ming, TFC Victory.  
  
****************  
  
Sharp tried to load the last few files, but they seemed to be damaged. He started a restoration of the files, but that could take several hours if it worked at all. Until then, he had listened to all that he could listen as far as the final logs of Captain Ming. He decided to pull up a directory of the some of the other files that might shed some light on the last days of the Victory. He stopped when he ran across what looked to be video files of the battle itself. As he looked over what each filed contained, he froze on one in particular. Most likely the file for which Robin had been looking. The video logs from Riley's glider. It wouldn't be right, Sharp decided, to watch them without her, but he wasn't sure she really wanted to see him at the moment. That question was quickly answered as he heard a voice behind him.  
  
"You weren't gonna watch that without me, were you?"  
  
He turned to see Robin coming up behind him. "No, of course not. I uh... I just thought you might still be upset about what happened earler."  
  
"I was, but not anymore," she admitted. "You were right. Our first responsibilty is trying to salvage the ship and a part of that is finding out what happened to it."  
  
"Still, you had a right to be upset," he offered.  
  
"What do you say we just put it behind us and watch this together?" she asked.  
  
Sharp nodded his head and loaded the file. Both of them swallowed hard, scared both of what they were going to see and of what they might feel. At the same time, however, neither could avert their eyes from the screen as file began.  
  
****TFC Victory, Somewhere in the Apollo System (June 7, 2019)****  
  
"The time is six am, Earth Standard Time. Rise and shine, Riley."  
  
Riley really hated that computer. It has no concept of sleepless nights and bad mornings. Only cold hard facts. Like that it was time to get up and face the day. She decided to see if it would change its mind.  
  
"The time is six o' five am, Earth Standard Time. Rise and shine, Riley."  
  
Damn.  
  
****To Be Continued in "Fox Tales"**** 


	10. Fox Tales

Author's Note: Ok, the first couple pages are just to harass Riley, but the rest has a point, trust me ;)  
  
Content Warning: Violence and Mild language  
  
Fox Tales  
****TFC Victory, Somewhere in the Apollo System (June 7, 2019)****  
  
The time is six fifteen, Earth standard time. Rise and shine, Riley."  
  
"I'm going you damn machine!" she yelled back, throwing a pillow across the room. Obviously it wasn't going to quit until she got out of bed. Slowly throwing her feet over the side, she forced herself to sit up and then stand.  
  
"Good morning, Riley. Sleep well?"  
  
"No, now why don't you go blow a fuse or something!" she scowled. The computer's greeting was standard of course and not interactive. An addition of the programmer to make it seem more friendly to the user. Still, it had asked a stupid question and she was more than inclined to give it the answer it deserved.  
  
Colonel Riley Fox shivered as the cold air hit the exposed parts of her skin. That was another thing that damn machine couldn't get straight. It was always too damn cold in her quarters. She had complained to the engineers about that, but all they said was sleep in warmer clothes. Sleep in warmer clothes??!! What kind of a stupid solution was that??!! If she wanted to sleep in shorts and a tank top that's what she was gonna do and to hell with anyone that said different! She'd make sure someone did something about it today, or else.  
  
She ran through the list of things she needed to accomplish as she prepared a shower. Another double shift of training new pilots on top of her usually duties, which now somehow included babysitting the ship's incompetent executive officer. Apparently he was unable to complete a simple duty roster by himself and needed her help, as if she didn't have enough to do. She wondered if he was really that dumb or if it was just an excuse to hit on her. That was the last thing she needed, especially today. But maybe Karen was right. It had been twelve years, perhaps it was time she stopped turning this day into a funeral procession every year. Of course Karen was also concerned with fixing her up with just about every available guy on the ship. That was just plain annoying.  
  
For the next hour, she tried hard to shove all of that to the back of her mind and get ready. As she finished putting on her uniform, she took a deep breath and prepared to walk out the door. A second before she did, however, she caught Robin's birthday gift in the corner of her eye. She still hasn't signed the card yet. She needed to make time for that in the next week before she forgot again. The important thing, however, that in seven days she'd get to see her little girl again for her sweet sixteen. That finally brought the first smile of the day to her face.  
  
It wasn't long after Riley left her room, however, that she was assaulted by her first problem of the day.  
  
"Colonel Fox!" Riley turned to see a young Lieutenant, running up behind her. "Ma'am, urgent orders from Commander Stevens."  
  
Riley rolled her eyes but hoped the Lieutenant didn't see, "what orders?"  
  
"He wants a field readiness test on flight ops done before 1700 today and a report on it by 1800, Ma'am."  
  
Doesn't he have anything better to do and then harass me, Riley thought. "Thank you, Lieutenant," she managed to get out.  
  
The Lieutenant turned to leave but then stopped, "oh and Ma'am, I almost forgot. He wanted to know if you were still available to go over the duty roster today at 2000."  
  
Riley had to remind herself to not kill the messenger, "tell him that my duty shift ends at 2000 so it'll have to wait until tomorrow." That weasel was not going to monopolize all her time. It just wasn't going to happen.  
  
"Yes, Ma'am," he said saluting.  
  
She returned the salute and continued to her office. She hadn't taken two steps when someone else called her name, but in the more familiar form. "Riley! Wait up!"  
  
Riley let out a small smile, "Good morning, Major Atwater."  
  
Karen looked at her like she was offended. "And good morning to you, Colonel Fox," she said with emphasis on the name and snapping to attention. Rolling her eyes, Riley turned and continued walking. Karen quickly followed, "hey what's up with you today?" She quickly answered her own question though, "oh wait... it's the seventh, isn't it?" Riley sighed and kept walking. Karen continued pursuit, "Come on, Riley. Don't ignore me, I'm your best friend!"  
  
Riley grabbed her squad mate and wingman by the arm and pulled her into her office, shutting the door behind them. "Can you just NOT start with me today? I didn't sleep much last night."  
  
"I'm not starting anything," Karen defended herself. "I just want to know what's got my friend so down before the day's even started."  
  
"Well for starters, I think I mentioned I didn't sleep well," Riley reiterated.  
  
"Yes, but WHY didn't you sleep well?" Karen pushed.  
  
"Because I had a bad case of insomnia last night," Riley lied, trying to look busy.  
  
Now it was Karen's turn to roll her eyes, "alright, fine, if you don't want to tell them then I'll just go get Lt. Colonel Robertson and have him try and get it out of you." Karen turned as if to leave and smiled. That was sure to get a reaction.  
  
"Karen, if you think of telling him anything, I'll have you grounded so fast you're head will spin!" Riley said with glare that might or might not have been lethal. The enlisted pilots were still debating that one.  
  
Karen turned back to face Riley, still with the smile on her face, "relax, Ri. But you know it wouldn't hurt if you talked to someone every once in a while. And from the way I've seen you looking at him, I figure he wouldn't be a bad choice. Besides, he looks at you quite a bit too."  
  
"You're imagining things," she assured Karen.  
  
"Am I? And besides, would it be so wrong if I was right? Is the great Riley Fox not allowed to be happy? Is she not allowed to look at an attractive man and feel good?"  
  
"It's not that, Karen," Riley tried to stop her.  
  
"Then tell me what it is, Riley," Karen continued. "Tell what is holding you back from having any kind of romantic relationship with a man other than the fact that he's not Zach."  
  
Riley immediately stopped what she was doing when Karen mentioned the name. Karen had never met "Zach" and knew very little about him other than what Riley told everyone when they asked. He was her first true love. A brave and courageous man, even if he was too modest to admit it and her greatest source of comfort. She thought back to how excited he was to be appointed the first glider commander in the history of mankind aboard the TFC O'Neill. She of course was happy for him, but at the same time, very afraid of him being on the front lines knowing war with the Maldorian was coming. Her fears were realized twelve years ago today, in orbit of planet light years away they had called Argos.  
  
"Zach has nothing to do with this," she lied. "And why do you have to fix me up with someone anyway? I mean between you trying to set me up with every available guy on the ship and Robin trying to set me up with Johnathan, I'm going nuts."  
  
Karen smiled at the mention of Johnathan's name. He had been a father figure to Robin for as long as Karen could remember, which is why Riley decided that it would be better for Robin to have a planet bound "normal" life living with John and Paris. It had been hard for her to make that decision, she had a hard time the first couple of months and you could still tell on some nights she wished her little girl was still on the ship with her. "Well there is always something to be said about the younger man," she smirked.  
  
Riley groaned but was saved by the comm that chirped to life. "Fox here," she responded.  
  
"Colonel, I need you to come to the bridge," the Captain instructed her. "I have a job for your squadron."  
  
"On my way, Sir," she said turning off the comm. She smiled up at Karen, "duty calls."  
  
"Don't think I'm letting this go," Karen said as they walked out of the office.  
  
"Wouldn't dream of it," Riley mumbled.  
  
****TFC Victory, Bridge (10 minutes later)****  
  
"We suspect the Maldorian Gunship to be operating in this area," Commander Stevens said, circling an area on the map.  
  
Captain Ming stepped in at that point, "Your job, Alpha wing, will be to search the area and find the gunship. Once you have done that, relay the coordinates to the Victory and return for refueling. You will stand as backup as Beta and Gamma wings conduct an assault."  
  
Riley was not happy. It felt like her squadron was being reduced to playing a glorified game of hide and seek. "With all due respect, Sir, but why are you sending Alpha wing on this mission?"  
  
The Captain understood all too well what Riley really meant. Why was her squad being reduced to such a menial task. "Colonel, it is vital that we find this gunship as quickly as possibly, and because of that I need my best out there looking for it. Alpha is my best. I realize this mission isn't up to your usual standards, but I don't have any options at this point."  
  
"Understood, Sir," was all Riley could say. They'd do it, but that didn't mean they had to like it.  
  
"Good," the Captain nodded. "Alpha wing, you are scheduled to depart in fifteen minutes."  
  
All four of Alpha wing, snapped to attention and saluted, "yes, Sir!" They all then headed for the locker room to prepare for the mission. Commander Stevens ran after Riley to catch her before she got too far.  
  
"Colonel! A moment please."  
  
Riley groaned and stopped. This day was not getting any better. The Commander ran up behind her and waited for her to turn and face him. She took her time. "Yes, Sir?"  
  
"I was still hoping you could help me with that duty roster sometime today," he said a little too hopefully.  
  
"As I told the Lieutenant, my shift ends at 2000 today. We'll have to do it some other time. Now if you'll excuse me..." She turn and began walking, but Stevens kept right up with her.  
  
"Well maybe we could do it over dinner or something?"  
  
"I don't think so," she said still walking.  
  
"Well maybe we could work something else out, Colonel. I would really appreciate your help on this," he insisted.  
  
Riley was not in the mood, "Sir, let me clue you in on something right now. I don't like you. I don't want to spend time with you, on duty or off. And I'm be damned if I want you hitting on me! Now, if you order me to help you with that damn roster on duty, I'll do it, but don't think for a second you can start monopolizing my time off duty. Now, I have a mission to prepare for and I no longer have time for this!" With that, Riley walked off, leaving the Commander stunned and shell shocked.  
  
****TFC Victory, Glider Launch Bay (15 minutes later)****  
  
*Pre-flight check complete, control. Alpha wing ready for launch.*  
  
"Roger that, Alpha one. You are cleared to launch."  
  
"Confirmed, control," Riley responded. "Leave the light on for us."  
  
*Roger that, Alpha one. Happy hunting.*  
  
The four gliders departed the glider bay two by two and set a course for their search area. "All pilots, check in," Riley ordered.  
  
"Alpha two, on your wing," Karen responded.  
  
"Alpha three, five by five," Lt. Dale Clarkson continued.  
  
"Alpha four, ready and waiting," concluded Lt. Erin Simms.  
  
"Sensors on maximum range, wide field."  
  
"Copy that, Alpha one," Karen acknowledged. "And keep an eye out for hard up Commanders."  
  
"Cut the chatter, Alpha two," Riley grunted.  
  
Karen smiled. Sometimes it was just too easy, but someone had to get her to lighten up.  
  
****Apollo System, Sector 21 by 15 by 25 (2 hours later)****  
  
Riley sighed. Yet another sector searched and yet again, nothing. This was getting very old. "Alpha one to Alpha wing. Sector search complete, no signs of the gunship. Prepare to move to sector 21 by 15 by 32."  
  
"Roger that Alpha one," Karen replied. "Moving to sec... what the hell??!!"  
  
Riley saw it just a few seconds after Karen did. It was almost as if the gunship had come out of no where. "Opening a channel to the Victory," she said flipping on her long range communications channel. "Alpha wing to Victory. We have made contact with the gunship. I am transmitting coordinates now. Repeat, we have located the Maldorian gunship. Coordinates are being transmitted." Riley waited for a reply, but got only static. They must have been jamming transmissions. Damn, Riley thought, I wonder how much of that got through.  
  
"Alpha one, I am reading all communications as jammed," Clarkson reported. "Orders, Ma'am?"  
  
Their wasn't time to leave and warn the Victory. By the time they got back, the gunship would be long gone, but without knowing if their message got through, there was no way to know if reinforcements were on the way. There was only one thing to do. "Alpha wing, set up an attack run on that gunship."  
  
"Colonel, I don't need to remind you that won't leave us with enough fuel for conventional drives to get back to the Victory," Karen warned.  
  
"I'm aware of that, Major," Riley said, preparing to make her run, "but we don't have much of a choice. If that gunship gets away, there will be at least four colonies at risk."  
  
"Understood. Alpha wing preparing for attack run."  
  
The four ships formed up in a v-formation and barreled down on the gunship. The gunship retaliated with it's ship to ship cannons, but they were intended for larger, slower ships and the gliders were much too fast. As the glider's closed, Riley gave final instructions, "target engines and weapons. The shields on these ships are inferior to the ones on the destroyers so we should be able to do some damage." All three reported understanding and each took aim at a target. As they passed over the ship, they began attacking, scoring direct hits on the engines and weapon. "I'm reading minimal damage. Line up another one," Riley ordered.  
  
"I've got a problem," Simms reported. "I got a little too close to one of the cannon and I've lost navigation. Attitude control is failing too."  
  
"Alpha three, can you assist?"  
  
"Roger that, Alpha one," Clarkson confirmed. "Moving into position now."  
  
"That just leaves us, Alpha two. Prepare for second attack run," Riley ordered.  
  
"Colonel, he's making a break for it!"  
  
Riley could see Karen was right. The gunship was powering up it's hyperspeed engines and trying to escape. "Target those engines! Give them everything you got!" she yelled.  
  
"Roger!" The two gliders came in at full speed and laid down as much fire as possible on the gunship engines. When the run was over, Karen checked her sensors. "Colonel, it wasn't enough. Their engines are still online."  
  
"Damn it! Setting up third attack run!" she said in frustration.  
  
Karen looked at her sensors again and smiled, "no sir, Colonel. It's the calvary!"  
  
Just as she said it, the Victory emerged from hyperspace and Beta and Gamma wings launched. "This is Beta one, Beta and Gamma wings preparing for attack run," Lieutenant Colonel Robertson voice announced. Riley had never been so glad to hear it. She realized that both her and Karen were bingo fuel and that another attack run meant they wouldn't have been able to pull out in time to clear the gunship.  
  
"This is Alpha one, requesting assistance. We are bingo fuel and and Alpha four is damaged."  
  
*Roger that, Alpha one. Launching support wing Delta to assist*  
  
While they waited, Riley and Alpha wing watched as Beta and Gamma wings finished what they started, taking out both the engines and weapons of the gunship. She breathed a sigh of relief until she saw something shoot out of the front of the gunship.  
  
"Control, this is Alpha one. Was that what I think it was?" Riley asked, hoping she was wrong.  
  
*Afraid so, Alpha one.*  
  
Riley swore under her breath, but for the moment, that was the least of their problems.  
  
"This is Beta one to Victory," Robertson started. "We have a problem. The gunship is overloading their reactor. They're gonna go any minute."  
  
*All gliders return to bays! I repeat! All gliders return to bays!*  
  
Delta wing has just reached the Alpha ships and were grappling them. All four wings scrambled to dock and then the Victory entered hyperspace, just seconds before the explosion.  
  
****TFC Victory, Bridge (1 hour later)****  
  
The Captain grimly continued the briefing. "The burst transmission the gunship sent out before it was destroyed, was confirmed received by a waiting destroyer in the Ares System. This means that the destroyer is aware of at least four colonies in the surrounding systems. Including the Athena system."  
  
That was the part Riley didn't want to hear. Athena was where Robin, Paris and John were and where they were supposed to make their next supply stop. The problem was, they didn't know where the destroyer was going to hit first and they couldn't protect all the planets at once.  
  
"I've just received orders the Fleet Command regarding this situation. There are four Thor class destroyers in the vicinity of the target planets, the Hammond, the Cheyenne, the Constitution and us, the Victory. Since we were headed for Athena anyway for resupply, Fleet Command has ordered us to cut our patrol short and head there immediately."  
  
"Sir," Lt. Clarkson interjected, "we've seen that in a one on one fight, we don't stand a chance against their destroyers. It usually takes three or more to make it an even fight. How are we gonna stop this thing by ourselves?"  
  
"Anyway we can, Lieutenant, is that understood?" Ming asked, glaring at him.  
  
"Yes, Sir," Clarkson responded and backed down.  
  
"Now I want everyone on full alert until we receive orders that this is over. Colonel, when we reach the Athena system, I want two glider wings on patrol at all times."  
  
"Yes, Sir," Riley said, trying to sound as unaffected by all of this as she could.  
  
"The rest of you have your standing orders," Ming continued. "I want status reports every six hours on readiness. Dismissed."  
  
All of the officers nodded understanding and turned to leave. Ming decided to make sure all this wasn't affecting Riley too much, "Colonel Fox. A moment please?"  
  
Riley turned back toward him, "Yes, Sir?"  
  
"I know this must be tough on you, Colonel," he said as a friend and not as a Captain. "If you want, I can put Lt. Colonel Robertson in charge of the glider operations until this is over."  
  
"Honestly, Sir, I would prefer to be right where I am during all this," Riley confessed. "It would drive me crazy just to sit here while all of my men were out fighting."  
  
The Captain nodded understanding, "very well, Colonel. Just remember that you have people who care about you to talk to if you need it."  
  
Riley smiled, "of course, Sir." She turned and went to prepare the glider patrol rotations. She desperately needed to keep busy over the next few days of travel. She wondered if any of her friends and family would be left when it was all over.  
  
****TFC Victory, In Hyperspace, minutes from the Athena System (June 12, 2019)****  
  
Riley hurried to the bridge. She knew from experience that anytime you're in a high alert status and the Captain wants to see you right away, it can't be good news. She walked in to see the entire rest of the command staff assembled.  
  
"Now that Colonel Fox has arrived, we can begin," Commander Stevens said sternly. Riley shot him a glare but he ignored it and continued. "Approximately three hours ago, Fleet Command lost contact with a listening post that was two light hours from Athena." The room stood in collective silence, some of them glancing to Riley for her reaction. If the destroyer was planning to attack Athena, that meant they would already be there by now. "An evacuation was ordered just minutes after we lost contact, but as you know, it takes at least twenty hours at a minimum to evacuate a colony the size of Athena."  
  
"Why was there no early detection of the destroyer?" Someone in the back asked.  
  
"We've analyze the data from Alpha's tracking of the gunship five days ago. We believe all Maldorian ships have been outfitted with a new stealth technology that renders them invisible to our sensors until we are in close proximity." That statement got the room going again. That means they could sneak up on colonies and battle groups with impunity. An already lopsided war was about to get a whole lot worse.  
  
"Calm down, everyone!" Ming interrupted. "Now why the destroyer wasn't seen earlier is of no consequence to us at the moment. They only problem we face at this point is how to stop their attack once we arrive. Now are their any working theories?"  
  
Now the room went deathly quiet again. They were all so intimidated by what they were about to face, they stood like deer in the headlights. All except Riley that is. "What about reinforcements?"  
  
"The nearest ship is the Hammond and it's still four hours behind us," Ming informed her.  
  
"Then we throw them everything we got, Sir," she said boldly. "Gliders, cannons, debris if we find a way. Anything to bring that shield down. We launch all forty-eight gliders, and have them all hit in the same spot to open a hole in their shields."  
  
Stevens rolled his eyes and responded, "That type of precision shooting would leave all the of the gliders and the Victory herself as easy targets. You would almost have to stationary to do it!"  
  
"Then we'll stay stationary, Sir," Riley told him point blank. "Our job is to protect that colony while it evacuates and that means we do it by any means necessary."  
  
"But our objective is to also get alive," he argued.  
  
"Secondary objective," she reminded. "Our primary objective is to get as many of those colonists as possible off that planet!"  
  
Stevens was being very upset now, "you wouldn't be suggesting this if this were any other planet, but since your daughter is on this one...!"  
  
"That'll be quite enough, Commander!" Ming stopped him. "Now this is not the time to be attacking one another! We'll have enough of that when we reach Athena! For now, I want all of you to your duty posts! Colonel Fox, I want you to have all glider wings prepped and ready to launch ASAP."  
  
Riley gave a long glare at Stevens before departing with the rest. She tried to shove it to the back of her mind. There were more important things to worry about right now.  
  
****************  
  
"Come out of hyperspace on my mark, Lieutenant," Ming ordered. He waited for the right moment and then gave the work, "Mark!". The ship made a slight lurch as it came out of hyperspace, but then settled into a cruising speed. They watched on their monitors the attack on the Athena colony from the destroyer. "Move us into position and prepare to launch gliders."  
  
****************  
  
Alpha through Mu wings stood ready to launch and just awaited the word. Riley was scared, sad and pissed all at the same time. She hoped Robin and Paris were off the planet by now, but there was no way to know for sure until after everything was over. Paris had looked to Riley as her surrogate mother ever since Chrislyn and Sam had been killed four years ago. Now she felt as if she had two daughters. She had to do something to save them. No matter what it took, they were going to live through this.  
  
*Alpha wing you are cleared to launch*  
  
"Copy that, control. Alpha wing launching," came Riley's reply. The four gliders left the launch bay and were setting up their attack while the other eleven wings launched behind them. "Alpha wing, we're setting up dead center on the target. All other wings fall in behind and take appropriate angles."  
  
All wing leaders responded in kind. The Victory moved into position as well. The surprising thing was that the destroyer had yet to take any action against them. Maybe they thought there was no danger, Riley assumed. She was determined to prove them wrong. "All wings! Open fire!" she finally ordered. All forty-eight gliders and the Victory concentrated fire on a particular spot on the destroyer's forward shields. And as Riley suggested, they released a flurry of debris and anything thing else expendable in the direction of the destroyer to drain the shield's power.  
  
The destroyer finally took notice and the ships began drawing some of the fire that had been directed at the planet. Epsilon three and Theta two were hit in the initial flurry and destroyed. The Victory meanwhile took damage to her hyperspeed engines.  
  
*Alpha one, this is control. We're reading a massive power up in the destroyer's weapon systems. They're gonna hit something and they're gonna hit it hard*  
  
That meant either the planet or the Victory and both those options were unacceptable. "Control, this is Alpha one. What is the shield strength of the destroyer's forward shields."  
  
*Transmitting that data now.*  
  
Riley quickly looked over the information and decided it was worth they risk. "Beta one, I'm leaving you in charge. I've got an idea." She then broke formation and started toward the destroyer.  
  
"This is Beta one. What are you talking about, Colonel? We need to stick to our orders."  
  
"Orders just changed, Beta one. Continue to concentrated your fire until I give the word," she ordered. "I'm going to force my glider through the shield and take our their weapons point blank.  
  
"This is Alpha two, requesting permission to join Alpha one," Karen broke in, trying to determine what she was up to.  
  
"Requested denied, Alpha two," she immediately said.  
  
"Too late, Riley. I'm already on your wing," Karen informed her. "Besides, you'll be shot down before you get close. You need a decoy."  
  
"Damn it, Karen! Get back in formation!" Riley ordered.  
  
"Beta four joining formation behind Alpha one."  
  
"Gamma one forming up on Alpha one."  
  
Riley couldn't believe what she was hearing. One by one, ships broke formation and formed up behind her. No matter how much she protested they just kept coming.  
  
"Colonel, no matter what you are up to, we want to be a part of it," Robertson explained. "It's your family now, but next time it could be anyone of ours."  
  
Riley knew she couldn't talk them out of it. "Look, we can't all go. I need eleven volunteers."  
  
More than eleven volunteered, but Riley vetoed those with families and loved ones. The rest were all single and no family of which to speak. They all knew what the risks of what they were about to do.  
  
Forming a wedge behind Riley, they charged the destroyer at full speed. The destroyer began to turn its attention to them as they neared and began taking them out one by one. By they time they reached the destroyer, only six remained. "All gliders, cease fire! We're entering the shield!" The gliders ceased fire and the six attempted to enter, including Robertson, Karen and Riley. Five made it as the sixth hit the shield at a wrong angle and spun out of control into the destroyer.  
  
"Concentrate your fire on the weapons system. Take it out at all costs!" Riley commanded. All five immediately did as asked. The destroyer's short range guns began firing and destroyed Karen's glider. Theta three survived a few seconds longer before going down.  
  
Riley surged ahead of the remaining three unleashing everything she had. It would be the last decision she would every make. Unable to pull up, her glider collided directly into the ship, finishing what her weapon had started. No pain. No regret. Just desperate love in her final moments.  
  
The last two gliders, unable to maneuver from the explosion, plunged into the ship's reactor.  
  
****TFC Victory, Bridge****  
  
Captain Ming and the entire bridge staff just stared at the screen for what seemed like years. It was actually no more than a few seconds, however. "What's their status, Lieutenant?" Ming finally asked. The lieutenant stood still, unable to move. Just starting at the screen. "LIEUTENANT! What is their status!" he ordered again.  
  
The Lieutenant finally snapped into action, "uhhhh, their weapons are inoperative. I'm reading a buildup in their reactor, Sir. Massive damage."  
  
"Are they far enough from the planet?" Ming asked worried.  
  
"Yes, Sir, but if we don't move, we're toast," the Lieutenant told him.  
  
"Jump to hyperspace!"  
  
"We can't, Sir! The hyperspace engines are too damaged."  
  
"They get us out of her as fast as you can and order the gliders to follow," he ordered.  
  
"Yes, Sir!" The Lieutenant immediately relayed the orders.  
  
When the destroyed exploded, the resulting shock wave overtook the Victory and rocked the ship. The Victory floated off the planet's sensors and was never heard from again.  
  
****Planet Destination #13, Victory's bridge (October 24, 2025)****  
  
Sharp terminated the file they were watching. It was enough to send them both to tears. For the next hour, they shared what felt like a family hug.  
  
Sam returned from working on the ship's other systems and seeing them, decided to leave them to grieve. Exiting the ship, she went to go get the next team to enter the ship.  
  
****Journal Entry, (September 15, 2026)****  
  
After almost an entire year of work and excavation, the Victory is ready to fly again. Sam says that with 3 newly installed Argos lasers, we should be able to take on one, maybe two destroyers by ourselves.  
  
Robin's really used this project to help her cope with the reality of her mother's death. Of course, all I needed to see was what she gave her life for. It's proved to me everything I will every need to know about her. I only wish I could have have shared in her life more than the short time we had together.  
  
I'm having to cut this entry short today. The dedication of the ship is starting soon and I have something special planned.  
  
****Dedication Ceremony, (September 15, 2026)****  
  
The ceremony had already started when Sharp arrived. He quickly ascended to the platform and took his seat. Robin was just finishing her speech and noticed him coming. "Now I've been told that Captain Sharp has something special that he would like to present. So I'll turn it over to him."  
  
Sharp stood and walked to the podium, "thank you, Commander Michaels." He waited for the applause to stop before beginning. "Today marks a historic day for all of mankind. Today we tell our oppressors that we will not go quietly into the night. If they want a fight, we'll give it to them!" The crowd roared to applause again. He calmed them after a few minutes and continued, "when this ship was originally in service, it was called the Victory. Now that is all something we would like to one day claim in this war, but if we do achieve that victory, it will be because of people who fought and died before us to bring up to this point. So now, as we rechristen this ship for flight, I would like to present to you, not the ship named Victory, but the ship named for two of the most important people in our fight for the right to survive. I hereby christen this ship, the Foxstar!"  
  
The crowd erupted in cheering again and their wasn't a dry eye there. It was a new beginning for Robin, Sharp and the rest, but the old foundation, laid by those like Dr. Chrislyn Star and Colonel Riley Fox would never be forgotten.  
  
****To Be Continued in "Turning Points"**** 


	11. Turning Points

Author's Note: Special Guest Star, Dr. Samantha Carter. The August 10th scene, modified from a portion of "In Training" by innocent choir girl and Sarge.  
  
Dedication: To Riley and Shannon who have been so patient with me for these last few chapters.  
  
Content Warning: Violence, Mild Language  
  
Turning Points  
****Argos Sector, (October 5, 2026)****  
  
"They're still gaining, Ma'am."  
  
"How much time until they are in firing range?" Robin asked the young man.  
  
"Ninety seconds, Ma'am." he replied in a hopeless tone.  
  
Robin turned to the men and woman manning the bridge, "ok, I need options. We need to lose these guys somehow!" Everyone looked down to their consoles to avoid eye contact. They were worried, scared, and had no idea what to do. Robin had to regain control of the situation and fast. "Listen up! I know this looks bad, but we are NOT dead yet! Now we have fought for the right to survive for as long as I can remember! We've been in dozens of situations where it seems hopeless! Now are we going to run scared and get shot in the back or are we going to do something to give ourselves a chance?!"  
  
One by one they looked up and met Robin's eyes. The decision had been made. Now she only needed to give the order. "Disengage hyperdrive. Prepare the forward guns and the Argos lasers. Target the lead ship and fire when ready!" The crew all sprung into action before the order was even finished. The drop from hyperspace was quick and violent but it gave them a few extra seconds to maneuver.  
  
The five Maldorian destroyers following them, dropped out of hyperspace behind them and immediately opened fire. The Foxstar took shot after shot as it slowly turned to face it's attackers. "Ten seconds to firing arch, Ma'am!"  
  
"Are the lasers charged?" she turned to the weapons officer.  
  
The young woman at weapons nodded, "all three cannons ready to fire."  
  
"Five in second intervals, single cannon shots!"  
  
"Yes, Ma'am."  
  
Suddenly the ship rocked more violently then it had before. "What was that??!"  
  
One of the crew responded, "they've hit one of the lasers, Ma'am. I'm gonna have to shut it down before the power cell explodes."  
  
"First Argos laser in position. Locking on and firing," the weapons officer told Robin. The resulting shot scored a direct hit on the lead destroyer's forward shields and destroyed them. "Firing forward cannons!" The barrage from the Foxstar's forward cannons, quickly disabled the lead destroyer's weapons and forced it to fall back.  
  
"Nice job! That's one!" Robin commended. Meanwhile the remaining four were extracting terrible damage on the Foxstar. "Prepare the second la..."  
  
"Ma'am!" the damage control officer shouted. "That last hit took out maneuvering thrusters."  
  
"They're trying to take advantage of it. Trying to flank us!" the sensor operator warned.  
  
"Target the closest ship and take it out, fast!" Robin ordered. "And get a team on those thrusters!"  
  
The weapons officer fired again and was targetting the forward cannons when the sensor operator broke in again, "Ma'am! Picking up six more ships on an intercept course."  
  
"Maldorian?" Robin asked, trying desperately to think of how this could be positive but coming up empty.  
  
"The sensors can't tell. It's saying it doesn't recognize the configuration," he answered. Then he exclaimed, "They're powering weapons. One of the destroyers is in position to target our reactor core!"  
  
They were surrounded and a sitting duck. There was nothing to do now but take as many of the enemy with them as they could. How could things have turned from so good to so bad this quickly? The Maldorians were closing in, Glenn was dying, and they still didn't know anything more than they did before they came to this God-forsaken planet. As she gave the order to open fire again, she wondered how it was that she had let Glenn talk her into starting all this. How ironic that the war would end for them where it started.  
  
****Planet Foxstar, (September 20, 2026)****  
  
"Robin, I don't understand," Sharp said to Robin as he followed down the corridor. "What's the problem?"  
  
She sighed, stopped and turned to him. "We have more important things to do then to head to a dead planet looking for a shred of evidence about what happened to my father. Especially when it probably doesn't exist!"  
  
"This isn't just about your father, Robin," Sharp argued. "The more we find out about the Maldorian attacks in the beginning of this war, the better we understand their tactics and thinking and if we're gonna win this war, that's exactly what we need!"  
  
"Glenn, I'm not arguing with you about this. I've thought it over and it just doesn't make sense! Finding this ship has been the biggest break for the resistance since the war started. I'm not risking it on some wild goose chase." Robin turned to continue walking when Sharp caught her arm.  
  
"We have the gate coordinates too, right? Then why don't I lead a team through the gate. That way the ship is no where near Argos. We go there, find out what we can and meet at a predetermined location."  
  
She looked up at him and glared. She didn't like being handled by anyone and Glenn had a nasty habit of doing so. "Look, Captain, you and your team can leave anytime you want. You wanna go through the gate to Argos, I won't stop you, but I want you. If you do so, you're on your own. We're not going to meet you anywhere," Robin warned. Sharp just stood there, unsure of what to say. Robin softened a bit, but didn't back down, "if we run across each other again, you're welcome to rejoin us, but right now it seems our priorities are different."  
  
Sharp released her arm, "alright, if that's how you feel about it. I'll gather Luke, Chris and Sam and we'll be on our way in a few hours." Robin looked away. She had forgotten that Sam had arrived with Glenn. And his assumption that she would go with him was probably correct. And with Chris leaving, that brought up another interesting question. Would Paris be going with them as well?  
  
"Take what you need," she offered. "When you're ready to go, I'll see you off."  
  
Sharp nodded, "thank you." He really hated the idea of leaving her and the Foxstar, but he felt that this had to be done. Sharp and Robin turned opposite directions and proceed to the seperate tasks that awaited them.  
  
****Planet Foxstar, (Two hours later)****  
  
"So you're just leaving?"  
  
"It's not like that, Paris," Stewart responded. "I made a promise to a good friend to help out the captain. I can't just turn my back on that."  
  
"Well fine then," she announced, "I'm going with you."  
  
"Paris, no," he argued. She stopped and turned to him. "With Mr. Tainn gone, the commander needs someone she can trust to serve as second in command."  
  
"Mac doesn't need me," she argued, tears welling up in her eyes. "Besides, whether you want to admit it or not, you need me."  
  
Stewart's eyes also filled with tears but he forced a smile, "well then if that's true, you know after this is over that I'll find you." The words were little comfort to Paris and Stewart could see that. Taking her into a hug, the embrance shook loose the first of many tears to fall. "I will see you again, Paris Kaydance Orion. You have my promise on that." Paris was choked up enough she could no longer form the words to ask him to stay. The two embraced for a few moments that seemed like days.  
  
Finally breaking the silence, Paris quipped, "just don't forget your toothbrush." The laughter between them, shook loose even more tears and added to the soaking of each other's shoulders. Locking eyes once again, those used the stare to guide to one another's lips. In that moment, the promise was sealed and nothing that would happen in the next two weeks would break it.  
  
****Planet Foxstar, (An hour later)****  
  
The team of four assembled at the gate. Several of the members of the resistance assembled to see them off on their journey. Sharp had noticed that Paris was no where to be seen, but perhaps Chris and Paris had already said their goodbyes. He double checked the P90 he had managed to hold onto for the entirity of his journey and looked up in time to see Robin approaching. He smiled, "I think we're just about ready, Commander."  
  
"Yeah I see that," she said, trying to return his smile. She looked away for a moment and then back, "about what I said earlier, I..."  
  
He cut her off, "don't worry about it, Mac. You were right, we don't need to take the Foxstar to Argos to do this. We can take care of it ourselves."  
  
"I still think it's a waste of time, Glenn," she informed him.  
  
"Well I always thought it was a good idea to put your money where your mouth is so what do you say we make a friendly wager, Commander?" he asked with a cock-eyed smile.  
  
She raised an eyebrow, "what kind of wager?"  
  
"Well if you're right and there's nothing there, I'll polish the bridge everyday for a month, but if we DO find something of value there, you have to cook me dinner for a month. Deal?"  
  
Giving him an 'are you serious' look, Robin shook her head and responded, "alright, Glenn, but if I find one smudge of dirt after you clean the bridge, your ass is mine."  
  
"Fine, but just make sure dinner is served promptly at seven every night and I expect a nice 3 course meal," he smiled back.  
  
She grinned and wrapped her arms around him to hug him, "take care of yourself, ok?"  
  
"Will do, Mac," he said holding back tears. "And just remember, don't call us, we'll call you."  
  
"Uh huh," she said, rolling her eyes.  
  
That cause him to smile. She was so much like her mother. That made things harder and easier at the same time. He didn't want to leave, but at the same time, in some strange way, it made him feel a bit more at peace for not being able to say goodbye to Riley. It was strange, he knew that the relationship he shared with Riley for that brief time did not give him any real family bonds to Robin, but somehow he felt just at close to her as he had to his own family. Almost as if she was the daughter he knew he would never have. Behind him, Sam finished dialing the coordinates to Argos. The wormhole established and Sharp turned to follow his team through the gate.  
  
Once they were gone, the gate shut down and Robin quickly turned her attention back to anything that occupy her mind, like the task of making final preperations for the Foxstar's departure.  
  
****Planet Argos, (September 20, 2026)****  
  
Sharp stepped down off the platform, joining Sam, Corra and Stewart. He looked around to see a seemingly peaceful planet. Hard to believe that the whole with the Maldorians started here. He walked up beside Sam, "so what's the story?"  
  
"Well the actual colony was built two miles west of here," she explained.  
  
"Just a hop, skip, and a jump then," Sharp said, looking out to the west. After a momentary pause he motioned for them to follow him and called, "Let's move out."  
  
"Yes, Sir," Sam responded while Corra and Stewart just nodded and followed.  
  
Sharp slowed to allow Sam to catch up to him as Corra and Stewart went ahead to check things out. "So how much do you know about what happened here?"  
  
She shrugged, "not a whole lot. I was pretty much retired during that time. From what I'm told, without warning, during the colony dedication ceremony, a Maldorian destroyer entered orbit and attacked." Sam took a deep breath before continuing, "The O'Neill was just outclassed. The SGC lost contact with both the O'Neill and Argos shortly after the attack began. We were forced to wait until the Maldorians abandoned the sector before we could go in and do our own investigation. That was almost a year after the attack and by then there wasn't much left."  
  
"And Robin's father?" Sharp wondered.  
  
"I don't think I ever met him and I never knew what happened to him," Sam answered. "I think Riley had an idea but she never talked about him to me. And the only thing I was able to get out of Chrislyn was that his name was Zach." Sharp gave Sam a curious look. "Does that name mean something to you?"  
  
"I'm not sure," he replied honestly. "Just an interesting coincidence I guess. But, no I guess it doesn' t mean anything to me."  
  
"Dr. Carter!" Corra called from up ahead. "Come take a look at this!"  
  
"Go ahead, Sam. I'll catch up in a moment." Sam nodded and started walking to where Corra was standing.  
  
Sharp meanwhile veered off to something reflecting in the sun about twenty feet away. When he got there, he was surprised to see a broken picture frame with an almost entirely intact picture. Funny the things that survive a completing disemating attack sometimes. He smiled when he got a good look at the picture. A couple and their two kids sat happily, smiling at the camera. It then changed to a frown when he realized that one or more of this family must have been here on the planet. A fatherless family now, maybe? He picked up the picture and took one last good look. In a way, he envied the man in the picture, whether he was still alive or not. He had the one thing Sharp wanted more than anything else and he could never have... a family.  
  
Sharp squinted his eyes as a sudden headache came upon him. Before long, his hands began to shake and he dropped the picture back to the ground. Quickly the pain spread to the rest of his body. He'd only felt pain like this once before... moments before he found himself thrown twenty-three years into the future. The pain was so intense, he could no longer stand and he fell to his knees and then to the ground. His vision blurred and then went black...  
  
****SGC Infirmary, (September 10, 2002)****  
  
Sharp looked around and found himself in very familar settings. What the hell?! he thought to himself.  
  
"I just got your tests back, Lieutanent," a man in a white coat seemed to be saying to him.  
  
Test?! What tests?! What the hell was going on?!  
  
"I'm afraid I have some bad news," he continued. "The chemical you were exposed to on your last mission did have an unexpected side effect on your human physiology."  
  
As he said it, Sharp suddenly remembered what was happening. He had sat in this very spot only a few weeks before his promotion. And the next words the doctor would say had been ringing in his ears every since. He could still quote the doctor word for word.  
  
"Lieutanent, I really don't know how to break this gently, but according to these tests, the chemical had effectively made you sterile."  
  
"Are you sure? I mean, could it be a mistake?" he asked, almost involuntarily.  
  
"I'm afraid I've conferred with two other doctors and they've come to the same conclusion. I'm very sorry, Lieutanent. Ordinary, I would prescribe treatment to maybe help counter the effects, but looking at this, there is really nothing we can do."  
  
Sharp managed to hold back the tears at the doctor's words, just like he'd done the first time he'd been through this. As the doctor turned to grant Sharp some peace, Sharp doubled over in pain and blacked out again.  
  
****Planet Argos (September 20, 2026)****  
  
"He's coming around! Give him some air!"  
  
Sharp slowly opened his eyes to see three people staring at him with worried looks. "What's going on?"  
  
Sam check Sharp's vitals, "you blacked out, Glenn. We've been trying to wake you up for almost an hour."  
  
He slowly sat up and held his throbbing head, "I've been out an hour? Wonderful," he added sarcastically.  
  
"Do you remember what happened, Captain?" Corra asked.  
  
"I remember this dream about..." he stopped himself from giving all the details. "A uh... a dream about the infirmary. I was in the SGC infirmary for a checkup," he lied.  
  
"Why would you dream about the infirmary, Glenn?" Sam asked, wondering about his sanity.  
  
Sharp tried to shake off the headache, "no reason. Let's just drop it, I'm fine now."  
  
"Not so fast, Glenn," Sam stopped him from going anyway. "We're done here until we have the Foxstar's doc check you out."  
  
"I'm fine, Sam," he said shaking his head again. "Really. Besides we just got here."  
  
"Captain, maybe she's right," Stewart interjected.  
  
Sharp shooks his arm free of Sam's grasp, "look, we came here to do a job and we're gonna finish before we go." He turned to look at Sam, "and when we get back I'll have the doc check me over. Now let's get what we came for." He quickly walked off toward what looked like it had been the main colony structure.  
  
The remaining three exchanged glances and followed him, knowing it was pointless to argue.  
  
****Foxstar, location classified, (September 29, 2026)****  
  
Robin sat in the Captain's chair looking over the day's maintanence reports. They were still having trouble with the conventional drive system. It was running rather sluggish and they weren't quite sure why until they checked the fuel reserves. Most of the fuel had been collecting impurities over the time the ship had been buried and they needed a substitute fuel source. That was why they were in the middle of who knows where.  
  
"Are you still getting those sensor readings?" she asked the ops officer.  
  
The ops officer looked over the readings one last time before answering her, "yes, Ma'am. Readings confirm the 5th planet contains a substance consistant with the fuel requirment of the conventional drives."  
  
"Ok, begin looking for a suitable place to land," she ordered. She then opened her comm system, "Got a job for you, Paris."  
  
*What's up, Mac?* she responded.  
  
"I want you to lead a team on the planet's surface to find fuel for the conventional drives," Robin told her.  
  
*Anyone in particular you want on the team?*  
  
"No one in particular, just take whoever you think..."  
  
Suddenly the comm officer interrupted her, "Ma'am, I have a priority message coming in. It sounds like Dr. Carter."  
  
"Just a minute, Paris." She then turned to the comm officer, "play it over the bridge comm system." The officer nodded and tapped a few button to carry out the order.  
  
*I repeat this is Dr. Samantha Carter to the Foxstar. Please do not reply to this message. We're sending this wide range into all directions. We need an immediately evacuation from our current location. Please hurry! It's a matter of life or death!*  
  
Robin's mind immediately went wild. She knew she shouldn't have let Glenn talk her into this! Now God knows what was happening to them! Damn him! The message was still playing over the bridge comm and Robin snapped her head toward the comm officer, "turn that damn thing off!"  
  
The comm officer quicky replied and shut off the message. While Robin fumed, the entire bridge stood silent waiting for orders. They knew her well enough to know better than to say anything to her while she was in this mood.  
  
Continuing to swear under her breath, Robin stood out of her chair and walked down to the navagation officer. "Set a course for Argos."  
  
"Ma'am, you do know it will take us almost a week to get there correct?" he asked, uncomfortably. She turned her icy glare to the navagation officer. "Right. Of course. Sorry, Ma'am. Setting course of Argos. Ready to engage hyperdrive on your signal, Ma'am."  
  
Robin was half pissed at Glenn and half worried for him. He damn well better be alive when I get there, she thought, so I can kill him! "Engage hyperdrive."  
  
****Planet Argos, (September 26, 2026)****  
  
"I can't get anything from this console, Glenn," Sam said, shaking her head. "This whole system is toast."  
  
"I'm not having any luck rigging this one up either," he replied. "I sure hope Chris and Luke are having better luck searching some of the other structures, otherwise I'm swabbing the deck for a month," he said groaning.  
  
"Something I should know about, Glenn?"  
  
He turned his head and smiled, "just a little side wager with Mac is all."  
  
Sam smiled back, "yeah, I pretty much had you pinned as a betting man."  
  
"Yeah, well you'd have me all wrong then, Sam," he laughed. "Before I got sent here, I'd pretty much always taken the safe path."  
  
"And being sucked forward in time changed all that, huh?"  
  
"No, actually I was sucked forward in time because someone changed me," he said, kind of staring into nowhere.  
  
"How long had you been together?"  
  
Sharp gave her an embarrassed smile, "a whole week." He chuckled at himself he felt so stupid admitting it.  
  
"That's not what I asked, Glenn," Sam told him. "You admitted you had feelings for each other a week before you were seperated. I want to know how long you were together, even before you recognized it."  
  
Sharp chuckled a bit. "You sound like you've been in a similar situations, Sam." She didn't respond which Sharp took as a cue to drop it. "To answer your question, though, I'm not exactly sure what she felt, but I felt a connection to her when we first met. Right after she joined SG-1."  
  
"That's two months before your mission, Glenn."  
  
Sharp tried to go back to occupy himself, "yeah I know. Not enough time to really discover how you feel, I guess."  
  
"Actually, I was gonna say that under that right circumstances, that's more than enough time," she corrected him. "If two people are really meant to be, it doesn't take long at all."  
  
He rested his hand on the console and contempted what she said before responding. "If that's true, Sam, then why am I here without her? If we were really meant to be, why couldn't I be there for her when she needed me?"  
  
Walking over to where Sharp stood, Sam wrapped him up into a hug. "If there's one thing I learned in my life is that love can make things happen even when the seem impossible."  
  
Impossible was certainly the word he used to describe his chances with Riley. His mind drifted to warm thoughts of when they met. He was just starting to feel better when an all too familar feeling overtook him. The blackness came so quickly this time, that he barely had time to realize what was happening.  
  
****SGC Infirmary, (August 10, 2002)****  
  
Sharp found himself back in the infirmary, however things were much different. There were a lot more people around this time, both doctors and personnel. He looked around and spoted an old acquintance, Lt. Hank Castor. Maybe he could ask some questions as to what was happening all of a sudden. Then, almost as if it can been scripted, he saw her out of the corner of his eye. She was just as beautiful as he remembered. He could see her looking back at him, and he smiled. He so desperately wanted to run over and embrace her, but he could see from the way she looked at him, she didn't know him. It was almost as if he'd... as if he'd gone back to when they'd first met! But how was that possible?! He needed to get some answers and he know he wouldn't be able to ask Riley. He started toward Lt. Castor. He got two steps before he managed to run over a nurse, knocking them both to the floor.  
  
"Lieutanent Sharp! Watch where you are going!" the nurse replied in anger.  
  
"I'm so sorry," Sharp replied, meaning it, but not really sure he was the one saying it.  
  
"You should be!" the nurse said getting off the floor. She glared at him as she walked away.  
  
Sharp looked around sheepishly, wondering if everyone was looking at him. He finally picked himself up and walked over to the Lieutanent.  
  
"Smooth move, Glenn," Castor chuckled.  
  
"Yeah well, let's just say I've had a lot on my mind, Hank," he replied, not sure what else to say.  
  
Caster glanced in the direction of Riley, "well if you're interested in that one, just make sure you dodge after the kiss, Glenn." Sharp couldn't help but laugh. He remembered hearing the story about how Castor had tried to steal a kiss and Riley had made him pay for it with a broken nose. "Well I'd like to see you do better. I mean we all know who the real ladies man is here."  
  
It was just too tempting for Sharp to pass up the opportunity. He nodded at Castor, "alright, you're on, Hank." He couldn't believe he was doing this. If he was really moving through time, couldn't his seriously screw things up?! All it took, however was one look at her face to make him forget all that. He boldly walked up to her, "excuse me, Ma'am, but I was wondering if it was you who broke Lt. Castor's nose?"  
  
"Uh...yes," she responded. Sharp didn't remember her being this nervous, but that could have been because he was just as nervous as he was. He smiled a huge smile at her. It felt so good to see her again.  
  
"Well I just wanted to congratulate you on the nice shot! I've fought with Lt. Castor before in an SG-12 vs. SG-14 sparring match in the gym and he's hard to beat."  
  
"Well he wasn't exactly ready for it. And I wasn't exactly trying to break his nose." Completely lost in the moment, Sharp forgot all about the mission, forgot about the future, forgot about the pain and loss. It was just the two of them now.  
  
"Oh yeah, right," another voice muttered. Well, maybe not just the two of them, he thought, seeing Dr. Star next to Riley.  
  
"Still, Ma'am, it was pretty cool," he finally replied.  
  
"Well thank you, Lieutanent," she said and then frowned. "What is your name anyway?"  
  
It suddenly dawned on Sharp again that he'd never introduced himself, "Oh I'm sorry! Lieutanent Glenn Sharp, SG-12," he said taking her hand. It was all he could do to keep from trying to kiss her.  
  
"I'm Captain Ri..." she started.  
  
"Riley Fox, SG-1," he finished for her, without even thinking. "And you're Dr. Chrislyn Star, right?" Chrislyn nodded acknowledgment. "It's nice to meet you," he said shaking her hand. Sharp thought back to how much Chrislyn disliked him when they first met. He held back a smile to give anything away.  
  
"You know we're not on SG-1 yet," Riley corrected. "We're only training with them."  
  
"Yes, Ma'am, everyone knows that," Sharp tried to cover.  
  
"O..k. Well then can I ask a question?"  
  
Sharp could tell Riley was a little perplexed about something and thinking back, he was beginning to remember things differently then when they had first happened. He still wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but this was far too real to be a dream. Perhaps it was time to wrap things up before he did too much damage. "Yes, of course, Ma'am."  
  
"How is it that everyone knows who we are?" she asked with a frown.  
  
Sharp chuckled at hearing that. He wanted to tell her the truth so badly, but knew he had to cover, "Here at the SGC, news carries very fast through our little grapevine. Especially when it has to do with SG-1."  
  
"Why's that?" she pressed.  
  
"Well, other than the fact that the SGC is a kind of tight-knit community, SG-1 is the most popular team and everyone knows everything about them. I mean they are the general's flagship team," he continued, hoping that would be enough to satisfy her curiosity.  
  
"Oh I see," she nodded in understanding.  
  
'Now get out of here before you mess things up worse, Glenn,' he thought to himself. "Well if you'll excuse me I have some paperwork to do. It was nice meeting you."  
  
Riley smiled back to him, "It was nice meeting you too."  
  
Sharp looked into her eyes, unable to resist, "Maybe we could get together for lunch sometime."  
  
She nodded and smiled again, "Yeah, I'd like that."  
  
"Oh good grief," Chrislyn muttered, rolling her eyes.  
  
Both Glenn and Riley looked over at her, before Sharp cleared his throat, "Well I better go. I'll see you later." He almost got to the door when his sense of humor got the best of him again. "Oh, and if either of you need anything, just let me know, ok?" he said, looking right at Riley the whole time.  
  
"Yes, thank you, lieutanent," Riley replied, still smiling.  
  
"Welcome to the SGC," he said walking out. A large grin filled his face as he walked aimlessly. He still wasn't thinking about what was really going on, until he felt himself being ripped back.  
  
****Planet Argos, (September 28, 2026)****  
  
"How's he doing, Dr. Carter?" Stewart asked.  
  
"Well despite that fact that I'm not that type of doctor, I can tell he's not doing good," she replied. "He woke up for a little while mumbling something about Riley, but then he blacked out again. Any luck getting word to the Foxstar?"  
  
"Not so far. The interference from the solar flare is still too great. Unless we can find a way to cut through it, I'd guess the earliest we could get a message out would be tomorrow."  
  
"I don't know if Glenn's got that long," Sam worried. "Stay with him and I'll give it a shot."  
  
"Dr. Carter... you do know that if we send this message, we're gonna draw every destroyer in range."  
  
"I know, but if we don't, Glenn doesn't stand a chance."  
  
"Alright, Dr. Carter. I hope you have more luck than me." Sam nodded and exited the make shift shelter leaving Stewart with the seemingly unconscious Sharp.  
  
"What the hell is going on with you, Captain?"  
  
****SGC Embarkation Room, (September 21, 2002)****  
  
"So is it a deal?"  
  
"What?" Sharp asked, disoriented.  
  
"Glenn!" Chrislyn exclaimed.  
  
"I'm sorry. Explain it to me again?"  
  
Chrislyn rolled her eyes, "Do you promise to talk to Riley if I can find her and bring her back to the party?"  
  
Sharp looked around again. He now remembered where he was. This was the SGC social he had attended only a week before the mission to P..... He had just told Chrislyn he was leaving the SGC because of a very embarrassing incident involving Riley the night before. The way things actually unfolded, however, is that instead Chrislyn forced them to see one another which resulted in them admitting their feelings and their very first kiss. He snapped back out of it and turned to Chrislyn, "Yeah, it's a deal, Chris." He was still quite a bit disoriented and didn't catch what she said right before she left. It was odd. This was the sixth 'jump' he had made since they started and although he wasn't any closer to figuring out what was happening, but usually the dizziness and disorientation was gone by now. Moments later, the pain consumed him again and the room faded to black.  
  
****Foxstar, Outer Rim of the Argos Sector, (October 5, 2026)****  
  
"We'll be there in just under three hours, Sam, so be prepared, cause we've got company right behind us."  
  
*Understood.* Sam's voice was heard over the comm. *Any ideas how you're gonna pick us up without landing?*  
  
"How long has it been since you've flown, Sam?" Robin cracked a crooked smile.  
  
*You can't be serious, Mac,* Sam replied.  
  
"Afraid so, Sam," Robin confirmed. "We've got two gliders sent ahead on autopilot to pick you up, but since we can't stop when we retrieve you, two of you will have to fly them in manually."  
  
*That might be a problem. I don't know if either of the others have flown one before*  
  
"Do your best to bring them up to speed, Sam. It's the only chance we got."  
  
"Understood, Carter out."  
  
Robin shut off the comm and crossed her fingers. This was not gonna be easy.  
  
****Argos Orbit, (June 7, 2007)****  
  
*Alpha-1! You're too close! Get out of there* the voice crackled over the intercomm. Sharp's eyes darted around the cockpit that he was suddenly inside. He jerked his head around to suddenly see a streak of light fly by his cockpit. Where ever he was it was not a good place to be. *Major! Have you got it yet?! You need to get out of there! You're too close!* Sharp looked down at the controls. He recognized the layout as standard Air Force and realized finally he was in the cockpit of a human glider. He finally grabbed the control and his flight training took over. He maneuvered the craft back and forth, up and down, avoiding the shots being fired from whatever was firing on him.  
  
Several other smaller ships flew by him, trying to draw some of the fire. Then Sharp positioned the craft to get a good look at what had been targeting him. It was a full blown Maldorian destroyer. 'What the hell was going on?!' he thought to himself. And the hell was he that close to a damn destroyer! And WHERE THE HELL WAS HE?!  
  
*Major! Did you get the skematics, Sir?!*  
  
Skematics? Sharp looked down over his console to see if he could figure out what the hell was happening. When he looked to the right, he found the panel that had the information he needed. The glider had downloaded the entire ship skematic for the destroyer. With this information, weapons could be developed to counter the destroyer's shields and other defenses. He turned on the comm system. "I have the skematics." He almost asked, now what, but with everything going on around him, he didn't want to alert anyone to the fact that he had no clue where he was. Then out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed another ship... and he recognized the ship number on the side. He'd seen it before shortly after he first arrived. It was the O' Neill. But how could that be? The O'Neill wasn't even built when he left and it had been destro... And that's when it hit him. Somehow he had been thrown forward to the battle of Argos... the very first battle in the Maldorian War. But how was that possible?! Every other time he jumped in time, it was into himself. He had to admit, that although he couldn't make sense out of any of this, this was definitely the most confusing thing that had happened. Was he stuck jumping from time to time at random? He thought back to one of favorite shows and suddenly felt like he knew how Dr. Sam Beckett felt in Quantum Leap.  
  
The surprises kept on coming, however. Sharp looked to his left and noticed a familar face in a picture. There was only one person who would have a picture of Riley in his cockpit. However impossible, Sharp realized he was in Zach's glider... probably just moments before he would be killed in this battle. Well this was definitely one way to figure out what happened to Robin's father.  
  
*Major! You need to get those skematic to the ground station as fast at you can! We need to make sure they get back to the SGC!*  
  
This must have been what happened. Zach took the skematics to the ground station, but they must have been destroyed before they got a chance to transmit them. If that were true, all of the events of the next few years could be avoided if he could just get them back to the SGC. It was a risk, he knew. This would cause major changes in the timeline, but he couldn't see any of them being worse than the one he was changing. He took the controls and began to implement his plan.  
  
****Foxstar, near the planet of Argos, (October 5, 2026)****  
  
"We've successfully retreived the first glider, Ma'am."  
  
"What about the second one?" Robin asked. That was the one that Glenn and Sam were flying in and they had little time left.  
  
"We should have them in less than a minute, Ma'am."  
  
Less than a minute may not be quick enough. Although they hadn't stopped, they did have to slow down significantly to proform this maneuver and the destroyers were gaining on them quickly. "Sam, we need to do this now. We're out of time."  
  
*Alright, here goes nothing* Sam accelerated into the landing bay and then quickly shut down the engines to keep them from flying into the wall. The landing bay doors closed and Sam desperatly tried to land the glider in one piece before they were splattered all over the doors. The glider clipped two other stationary ones, but Sam retained enough control to be them down, just a few feet away from the doors.  
  
*You guys still in one piece, Sam?* Robin asked over her comm.  
  
"We're still here, Mac. I need to get Glenn to the infirmary fast. I think we're losing him!"  
  
****Near Planet Argos, (June 7, 2007)****  
  
So far, everything had gone as planned. He hated to lead the others to think they had been abandoned, but this mission was critical. He'd shut off his comm, and used the ship's navagational computers to point him in the right direction. He didn't know if he had enough power to get where he was going, but it was another risk he'd have to take.  
  
Sharp was just about to make a minor course correction when his eye grew wide and his heart sank. He couldn't believe it. He'd only been trying to do the right thing. To make things right. But he realized all he had done... everything that he had done, was all a part of what had already happened. He had a part to play and he was playing it. Maybe this was where his role ended. He watched as the destroyer that had been waiting for him, targeted his glider and opened fire.  
  
****Foxstar Bridge, (October 5, 2026)***  
  
"They're powering weapons. One of the destroyers is in position to target our reactor core!"  
  
The entire bridge crew sat in stunned silence waiting for the end to come. Five had been bad enough, but eleven was impossible. Suddenly, however, as if their collective prayers had been answered, their comms came alive with wide range broadcast, "This is the TFC Abydos. You are illegally engaged in action against one of our destroyers. You will cease this action or we will open fire!" The bridge erupted in cheers all at once.  
  
Apparently unafraid of the Foxstar's new help, the destroyers continued to advance. Robin knew they weren't out of the woods yet.  
  
****To Be Continued in 'Sharp Pains'**** 


	12. Sharp Pains

Author's Note: Special Guest Star, Dr. Samantha Carter.  
  
Content Warning: Violence, Mild Language  
  
Sharp Pains  
****Argos Sector, (October 5, 2026)****  
  
Robin caught herself on the Captain's chair to keep from falling. The blast that has rocked the Foxstar had come from behind them.  
  
"Damn it! How much longer on those maneuvering thrusters?!" she demanded.  
  
"The repair crew say three minutes!" an officer called back.  
  
"We don't HAVE three minutes!" Robin informed him.  
  
"The Selmac is trying to draw their fire," the tactical officer reported. "They're buying us some time."  
  
"Let's hope it's enough," she responded. "Can we acquire any targets?"  
  
"One of destroyers is being forced into our firing arc. We'll have them targeted in less than twenty seconds."  
  
"How's the third laser holding up?"  
  
"So far, so good, Ma'am."  
  
The ship rocked with two more jolts that knocked two officers from their seats and Robin to the ground. Robin grunted something unintelligible and jumped to her feet.  
  
"Target in range, Ma'am," the weapons officer reported.  
  
Robin curled her lips into an evil looking grin and gave the order, "fire." The weapons officer followed his commander's instructions and Robin watched as a portion of the destroyer, lit up brilliantly and then seemed to go belly up like a dead fish in a tank. "Nice shooting. Line up another shot."  
  
"No need, Ma'am! The remaining destroyers are retreating. Their towing the two that were disabled."  
  
For the second time that day, the bridge erupted in loud cheers. It was their first decisive victory over the Maldorians that any of them had experienced. Robin joined in only momentarily before attempting to calm the crew. "Get me whoever is in charge of our cavalry."  
  
"They're already trying to contact us, Ma'am. I'll transfer the audio to the bridge comm."  
  
Robin just nodded as she wanted to hear who was on the other end of the transmission.  
  
*This is Captain Landon Jackson of the Abydos. To whom am I speaking?* the voice crackled over the intercom.  
  
"My name is Robin Michaels, commander of the Foxstar. Thank you for the assistance, Captain. We were quite lucky you came along."  
  
*You're quite welcome to it, Commander, however it wasn't luck that brought us to you. We're actually hoping that you have the man we're looking for aboard your ship. A Captain Glenn Sharp.*  
  
It wasn't that she had forgotten about Glenn, she just hadn't had time to stop and think about it. Now her thinking shifted. When Sam and the rest had contacted them, she remembered that they said Glenn was dying. During the fight, Luke and Chris had taken up stations, but Sam elected to stay with him on the chance the ship's medic might discover a way to wake him. Once this matter with Captain Jackson was taken care of, she'd need to find out how he was doing. "Yes, Captain. He's here. Unfortunately, he's not available at the moment."  
  
*I see,* Jackson replied, concerned. *May I ask why?*  
  
"I wish I had a good answer for you, Captain," Robin sighed. "He was leading to mission to the planet below and lost consciousness. We've been unable to revive him. I'm afraid last time I checked, the prognosis wasn't good."  
  
*I'm sorry to hear that, Commander,* Jackson said, sympathetically. *My superiors and I have been looking for him for quiet some time. We have some urgent matters to discuss with the Captain.*  
  
"May I ask how you know the Captain?" Robin asked, suspiciously. As far as she knew, the only people who knew of Glenn outside of her and her men, were the Maldorians. This very well could be a trap regain the whereabouts of the human hiding places lost after the destruction of the Ra. She had to be certain before she said anything else.  
  
*It's... a long story, Commander,* he said, realizing he still hadn't earned her trust. *I understand your misgivings, but I assure you, we're on the same side. Is there anything I can do to demonstrate that to you effectively?*  
  
Robin thought it over for a minute before responding, "You can start by explaining who you are, where you come from and why you want Captain Sharp."  
  
Jackson smiled to himself. He'd heard she was a tough sell. He remembered meeting her mother once and knew that she had inherited her fire and spirit from her. Not to mention her stubbornness. *As I stated before, my name is Captain Landon Jackson of the Abydos. As for the rest of your questions, it might be better if we discussed them in person. Is that acceptable?*  
  
"Give me one hour to prepare for your arrival, Captain," she replied and cut the transmission off before he could answer. If this was going to happen, it would be on her terms, on her ship.  
  
****Foxstar Infirmary (Meanwhile)****  
  
"There's nothing you can do?" Sam asked the medic.  
  
"I've tried everything I can think of, Doctor Carter," he assured her. "I'm not trained to handle this type of situation. And I doubt we find anyone who is. Since the war, we're lucky we have anyone at all trained in medicine. I'm sorry to say it, but if your friend is gonna come out of this coma, he's gonna have to do it on his own."  
  
Sam watched as the medic turned and went to treat some of the wounded from the battle that had just raged. She then knelt down next to the unconscious captain and said a quick prayer. After the last year they'd been through together, it seemed the least she could do and knew he'd do the same for her.  
  
****Foxstar Conference Room (One hour later)****  
  
Robin stood as Captain Jackson was led into the room. He walked over and they shared a handshake before she offered him a seat to her immediate right. As he took his seat, Robin did the same, "so are you gonna explain who you really are and why you came looking for us?"  
  
Jackson nodded, "I came here because my superiors are very anxious to speak with Captain Sharp about his... unique situation."  
  
"And who exactly are you superiors?" she asked flatly.  
  
Jackson grinned slightly, "I speak for the SGC on this manner."  
  
Robin raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "Oh really? What's next, you gonna tell me you knew my mother and father?"  
  
"I did actually meet your mother once, but I'm sorry to say I never knew your father," he replied point blank.  
  
"Uh huh, riiiiiiiiiight," she said rolling her eyes. "And I suppose I should just trust you now?"  
  
Jackson sighed, "I understand your skepticism, believe me, Commander, but we don't have a lot of time. It is is important we speak to Captain Sharp as soon as possible. I realize I'm asking a lot, but once we escort you to our new base of operations, you'll see that everything I'm telling you is the truth."  
  
"You /don't/ seem to understand, Captain," she corrected, "I'm not going anywhere with anyone and I'm certainly not turning over Captain Sharp until you prove that you are who you say you are."  
  
He tried hard not to take offense, but he was sure some annoyance showed through. "Very well, Commander. I hoped it wouldn't come to see, but we don't have time to dance around anymore. I have six warships surrounding yours and and we will take you and your crew by force. I don't want to do it, but we believe that Captain Sharp has information vital to achieving victory in this war."  
  
Robin scowled back at Jackson, "I'm not about to be bullied into anything. You wanna threaten me, you better be in it for the long hall, pal, cause I'm not about to back down just because you have a few more ships."  
  
Definitely her mother's daughter, Jackson thought. He soften his voice and smiled, "My apologies, Commander. I do not mean to escalate this situation into a confrontation. It's just you must understand, how important the Captain is to us." Jackson looked over at the others in the room and then back at Robin. "If we could have some privacy... please."  
  
She thought it over for a moment but eventually dismissed the guard with a head nod. "There, now this had better be good, or we'll be on our way."  
  
After surveying the room for himself, Jackson pulled a data crystal from his pocket and handed it her. "Play this please."  
  
Taking the crystal in her hand, she inserted it into the conference room computer. She was greeted with images of both Glenn and her mother at what looked like a birthday party. She watched for several minutes before turning back to Jackson. "I don't see your point, Captain. I already knew that Captain Sharp and my mother were involved before his disappearance. How is this gonna convince of of anything?"  
  
"Look at the time stamp, Commander," he replied. She looked at the corner of the display and then back up to Jackson. "Do you see my point now?"  
  
"You could have doctored this," she reasoned. "This isn't real."  
  
"It's quite real, Commander and that's why we need to speak to him as soon as we can."  
  
"You have no idea what you're talking about, Captain. My mother told me she was involved with my father before then."  
  
"Please don't take offense at this, but who says she wasn't involved with both your father and Captain Sharp at the same time?" Robin shot him a death glare that communicated all she needed to say. "I sorry. That was tactless. At the same time however, it is possible, isn't it?" Robin remained silent. "I'll take that as a yes. Now, with that in mind, you know how difficult it is to doctor a data crystal like this. I think deep down you now it's not a fake." She remained silent still. "Come back with me. Let me prove it to you beyond a shadow of a doubt."  
  
Robin looked away from him and began to consider.  
  
****Paris' quarters, (thirty minutes later)****  
  
The decision had not come lightly and she hoped she had made the right one. It had been bothering her since she'd committed and she needed to talk to someone, which had brought her here to Paris' quarters. She rapped on the door and waited.  
  
The door opened and Paris stood there half dazed, "uhhh... hi... Mac... What's up?"  
  
Robin frowned a bit, "is this a bad time?"  
  
Paris quickly attempted to regain her composure, "uhhhh... well.. kinda... Is it important?"  
  
"Well, no. I guess not," Robin said shaking her head. Oh my God! Robin thought. I didn't even think about it. She hasn't seen Chris in quite a while. Think, Mac! Think! "It can wait. Enjoy," Robin smiled knowingly.  
  
Paris blushed, "Thanks, Mac. We'll talk later, ok?"  
  
"Ok," she said, lessening the smile.  
  
Paris stopped blushing and got serious for a moment, "How's Glenn doing?"  
  
"Not so good," she said, smile gone. "The medic can't do anything for him."  
  
"I'm sorry, Mac. I know all this has been hard on you. We've lost so many people lately"  
  
She forced a smile, "I'll be ok, Paris. I'm a big girl. I can handle it."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Would I lie to you?" she said forcing the smile bigger. "Now, I'm sure Chris is getting lonely in there. Go keep him company."  
  
Paris blushed again, "Ok... I'll talk with you later, Mac."  
  
Robin nodded and proceeded down the hall. Maybe Sam was available to talk. She preceded down the hall and arrived at her quarters. A quick knock followed.  
  
Sam answered the door in a melancholy mood, "hey Mac."  
  
"Hi, Sam. Are you all right?"  
  
Sam forced a smile, "I'll be fine. Do you want to come in?"  
  
She nodded her head and entered, "thank you."  
  
"What can I do for you, Mac?" Sam asked.  
  
Robin turned to look at her, "Have you heard about where we're going yet?"  
  
"Yeah I've heard. You still have your doubts about them don't you?"  
  
"It seems too easy, Sam. These people show up right when we need them? And make everything ok? It's too tidy," she concluded.  
  
"Maybe. But Glenn was telling me once that he was convinced the SGC still existed somewhere. One of his goals early on was to find them."  
  
"That doesn't mean this is them, Sam."  
  
"I'm just saying don't discount the possibility," Sam told her. "Besides, from what I heard we didn't have much of a choice in the matter."  
  
Robin sighed, "that's the other thing I don't like about this whole mess. I don't like being bullied. I wasn't raised that way. My mother must be turning in her grave right about now."  
  
Sam couldn't help but chuckle a bit, "I'm sure she'd understand, Mac. And if this does turn out to be a trap of some sore, we'll fight our way out it. The old Fox fighting spirit." She smile at her.  
  
Robin smiled back almost as a reflex, "thanks, Sam."  
  
The burden wasn't completely lifted, but it was definitely lighten. Now the only thing left to do was to get there and see if it was true or not.  
  
****Nearing an Unknown Planet, (October 7, 2026)****  
  
"Ma'am, we're being instructed to land near a large concentration of structures."  
  
"Go ahead and do it, but be ready to get us out of here at a moment's notice," she ordered.  
  
"Yes, Ma'am."  
  
The landing was long and drawn out at the instruction of Robin. With no sign or indications of foul play, however, they finally did settle onto the planet's surface. They were quickly surrounded by a legion of onlookers, all waiting to see who was inside the aged ship. Cutting through the crowd with military escort, however, was a woman wearing high ranking insignia. She finally reached the edge of the throng just as the first of the crew disembarked.  
  
The woman, who looked in her late 40's watched, looking for someone who could pass for the captain and also for Captain Sharp, who she was eager to see... again. Finally, four men brought a man off the ship on a stretcher. She couldn't get a good look at him just quite yet, but figured that had to be Glenn. She approached the four men, but was cut off by a young woman. "Excuse me, miss. I need to see that man."  
  
"You'll see him when I say you can see him," Robin told the woman.  
  
The woman looked up at the face as if she'd seen a ghost. If she didn't know better she'd have swore she was staring at her former CO. "I don't believe we've met, miss."  
  
Robin looked back with a stone face, "Commander Robin Michaels of the Foxstar. Who are you?"  
  
"General Danika Scott," she replied after the younger woman's identity was confirmed. "I'm the commander of this facility. I'm an old friend of the Captain's."  
  
Robin shook her head, "I don't care who you are. You don't see him until I say you do. He's one of my men. Do I make myself clear?"  
  
"Actually, Commander Michaels. He's a member of the SGC. Just a few years removed is all," she smiled.  
  
Robin grabbed Danika as she tried to push past her, "I said you're not seeing him until I say so."  
  
Danika stopped and cracked a small smile, "well we do have to wait for our doctors to revive him first. I guess I can wait to see him until then. In the meantime, can I show you around the facility? I'll have guest quarters assigned for your men shortly."  
  
Robin was still not sure about this General Scott, but decided that getting to know her surroundings would be a good idea. "All right. Lead on then."  
  
The two women began walking toward the main entrance of the facility. Robin noticed as they walked that Danika seemed to be glancing at her quite frequently. "I take it you knew my mother?"  
  
Dani smiled, "sorry. I don't mean to stare, but you share an uncanny resemblance to her."  
  
"So I'm told," she responded, thoughtfully. "How did you know her?"  
  
Dani's voice became soft, "We served together on SG-1 a long time ago. She was even my CO for a while." They stepped onto the base elevator and descended into the facility. Dani tried to approached the next subject carefully. It could end up building some trust or cause irreversible damage. "We all loved and respected your mother very much you know. She died doing a very brave thing."  
  
"I know how she died," Robin said flatly. "And it's not something I discuss with a total stranger."  
  
"I'm sorry," she backpedaled. "I didn't mean to..."  
  
"Don't worry about it," Robin cut her off, "I'd just rather check in on Glenn and see what the doctor's have to say."  
  
Dani nodded agreement. "He'll be in our infirmary. I'm sure Dr. Sanders is attending to him personally."  
  
"Dr. Sanders?"  
  
Dani smiled, "yes. She's our chief medical officer. She was even the doctor that delivered you," she added.  
  
That got Robin's attention. "So you and this Dr. Sanders were both there? When I was born?"  
  
Dani nodded again, "yes. Is there something you want to ask about it?"  
  
Robin shifted her eyes away as she thought about the answer to Dani's question. Finally she decided to let her guard down for a moment... but just a moment, "you... knew both my mother.. and my father?"  
  
Dani sighed slightly," I knew him, yes... but I... can't talk about him..."  
  
"Why the hell not?!" Robin asked, frustrated.  
  
"A promise... a long time ago, Robin," she confessed.  
  
"Who cares about some old promise?!" Robin pushed. "This is my family we're talking about. Is it my business. It was bad enough my mom never told me anything about him, but I'm not going for that promise crap."  
  
Dani looked up at her, "it's not just that. There is a good reason, and if I could tell you, I would, but I can't."  
  
"You mean you won't," she shot back, as the doors opened. She exited and was gone before Danika could respond. If she was anything like Riley, and Dani suspected she was, the best course would be keep an eye on her from afar and let her cool off a bit. For now she'd go check on Glenn's condition.  
  
She walked into the room and the concerned look on Chandra's face did not signal good news, "How's he doing?"  
  
Colonel Chandra Sanders, base physician, shook her head, "Not good. We didn't get to him fast enough. My treatment won't work now, he's too far advanced."  
  
Sam approached them both from Glenn's bed, "what treatment?"  
  
Chandra turned to face her, "a DNA treatment technique."  
  
"DNA treatment?" she questioned. "I thought he was in a coma."  
  
"He is, but it's more than that," Chandra started and then thought for a moment. "Riley explained it to me once. Glenn wasn't just sent into the future. The time-inversion wave created a complete tunnel that opened at three points. It pulled in the Glenn from that time, a past Glenn and a future Glenn and displaced them all twenty-three years. When Glenn disappeared on that mission, he was replaced by his past five-year old self. I don't really understand all of it. Does that make any sense, Sam?"  
  
"It does actually. In fact I read Riley's work on that theory, but I never realized it was based on Glenn's disappearance," she replied. "It was her conclusion that a rift that big in the space-time continuum couldn't be sustained for very long and that eventually the rift would try to correct itself."  
  
"That's what we believe is causing the coma. Something about this rift trying to repair itself," Chandra continued.  
  
Sam nodded, "it makes sense. His DNA would be a state of high flux as the rift tried to pull the displaced Glenns back into their own time. Unfortunately, the farther away from the point of the rift, the slower it happens. Which means all three of them would be dead before it finished."  
  
"What if we took Glenn back to the planet?" Dani asked. "Would that allow him to return to his time alive?"  
  
"Unfortunately, that wouldn't be enough. The size of the rift is also a factor. It's probably so small now after so much time, it can only pull a small amount of matter through at a time," Sam explained. "Besides," she said turning back to look at him, and holding back the tears, "he doesn't look like he's got too much longer anyway. We'd never make it back in time unless we used the stargate and who knows what would happen if we did that."  
  
"Getting him there wouldn't be a problem," Chandra informed her. "I may not be able to cure him, but I can stabilize him for a while. Extend his life a few months."  
  
Sam spun her head around back at Chandra, "how?"  
  
"Well my original treatment was to extract DNA unaffected by the rift and use it to create more DNA strands that would allow him to survive in our time. A less permanent solution would be to extract DNA strands from someone in this time and modify them, that would serve the same purpose. However, our technology isn't advanced enough to make it perfect. The new DNA strands would eventually break down and become useless."  
  
Sam's look quickly changed to confused, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but unless our technology has drastically improved in the last ten years, and from the looks of things, I doubt it, we can only successfully modify first degree relatives' DNA. So unless you know where Glenn's parents are, that still won't work. He doesn't have any siblings or children."  
  
Chandra and Dani exchanged glances before Dani turned back to Sam, "That's not exactly true."  
  
****New SGC Briefing Room (An hour later)****  
  
"You people are unbelievable! You ran out of good lies, so you're trying bad ones now?" Robin wasn't in the mood for fairy tales and that's exactly what this felt like. It had taken them almost an hour to work their way up to the explanation and when it came, it sounded like pure fiction.  
  
"We're not lying, Robin," Dani rebutted. "I know it's hard to believe but it's true. Why would we lie about something like this?"  
  
"I don't know, but there is no way this makes sense" she said, raising her voice.  
  
Sam decided to chime in, "I don't know if it's true or not, Robin, but I know how smart you are and you know it's theoretically possible. Just have an open mind and let them prove it. What have you got to lose? Besides, not to sound insensitive, but I'd like to know. From a scientific point of view of course."  
  
"Yeah... fine... whatever," she relented. "It'll only prove I'm right."  
  
Chandra walked over to Robin with a small device that looked much like a hand scanner. "Put your hand on this please." Robin did so and left it there until Chandra told her she could remove it.  
  
"So?" Robin asked impatiently with a hint of anticipation.  
  
Dani and Sam gathered around Chandra and the device and then collectively looked up at Robin. "See for yourself, Robin," Danika admonished.  
  
Robin took the device and looked over the results. The first set of results proved to be correct identifying Riley Fox as her mother, but the second set confirmed what Chandra and Danika had been saying. The man lying in the infirmary bed, in a coma, slowly being eaten away by a space- time rift was her biological father. He had said he was sterile. That he'd never been with Riley. And she believed him. So how could this be true? "This can't be right. Mom didn't met my father until after Glenn disappeared. And... this... it just isn't possible. It has to be wrong," she said with tears in her eyes. She found herself not wanting to believe it. She couldn't understand why, though. She was very confused.  
  
Sam approached her and wrapped her into a hug, "I know it's a lot to accept all at once, Robin, but we're here for you. We're your friends and we wouldn't lie to you."  
  
Robin looked up to Danika, "why couldn't you tell me before?"  
  
"I made a promise... to Glenn," she admitted.  
  
"I don't understand. He doesn't know I'm his daughter."  
  
"I know don't understand, but you will," Dani assured her. "And if it helps any, it was the most agonizing promise he'd ever had to ask, and most agonizing we've ever had to keep."  
  
Chandra hated to break in, but they were running out of time, "if we're going to do this, it'll have to be soon. He doesn't have much time left."  
  
Sam moved back and looked at Robin face to face with the question in her eyes. All Robin could do was nod consent. With that, Chandra sprang into action. The clock was ticking.  
  
****New SGC Infirmary, (October 10, 2026)****  
  
Chandra was hurrying as much as she could, but one mistake and everything she'd done so far would have been for naught. The new strands were ready but she needed to implant them in the delivery system. She carefully injected the genetic material into a small capsule. "There, that should do it."  
  
Robin and Danika had been allowed in to watch the procedure, but Sam, Paris, Chris and Luke were told to wait outside. "How soon will we know if it works?" Dani asked.  
  
"Hard to say. Our best guess says if it does work, he'll be awake and coherent in a few days. But really all we can do after I inject him is wait."  
  
Dani nodded acknowledgment, "Do it."  
  
Chandra turn and walked to the bed with the syringe. She carefully and gently injected the capsule and withdrew the syringe. Robin watch in complete silence, unable to even begin to articulate what she was thinking. All this time her father had been dead. Now here she was, watching the father she never knew die right before her eyes. It was too much. She thought about all she's missed and all she wouldn't get to ask him. Sure they'd gotten to know each other, but only as friends. Not as a family. And now that chance could be gone. She did her best to bury her emotions. She had responsibilities and she couldn't let this get in the way. If he died, she would just have to deal with it just like any other death.  
  
"How are you doing, Robin?" came a voice that Robin didn't even try to identify.  
  
"I'm fine." She was out the door before anyone could stop her.  
  
****General Scott's Quarters, (October 13, 2026)****  
  
Danika waited for the others to arrive. She was concerned about Robin and it was time to do something. She's seen Riley get like this before and it usually lead to very bad habits. The resemblance between them now was uncanny. Not only in appearance but in mannerisms as well. If there was anything they could do to help her, it was the least they could for the sake of their friendship with Riley.  
  
Just then there was a rap at the door. Danika answered it and invited the three people standing outside to enter. They each took up seat on Dani's dinner table. "Ok, you all know why you're here. We all care about Robin and can't stand to see her like this. The question is what can we do about it?"  
  
"I think we've all tried to talk to her," Sam started. "She's just not talking to anyone."  
  
"Does this surprise you?" Paris asked. "I don't think there is anything we can do. Robin isn't the type of person who talks to people. I practically have to drag what little I get out of her."  
  
"Sounds like a certain gal we used to know, right Dani?" Chandra pointed out.  
  
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing earlier. The only problem is that we never did quite figure out how to help her either," Dani reminded.  
  
Sam shook her head, "well we can't just give up. There has to be something we can do. She's been spending day and night on the bridge of the Foxstar and she's going to burn herself out."  
  
"Well I don't think anything short of Glenn waking up will do that," Paris remarked.  
  
"He's responding well to the treatment," Chandra informed them. "The only problem is, I'm not sure whether it will actually work or not. According to the simulations we ran, he should be awake by now."  
  
"Who's with him now?" Sam wondered.  
  
"Nurse Chesser. I told her where I'd be if..." Suddenly the computer interrupted her.  
  
"Priority message for Dr. Chandra Sanders."  
  
Chandra got up and touched a few buttons and the image of Nurse Chesser appeared. "Something wrong, Jodie?"  
  
"No Ma'am, but you said to inform you the minute Captain Sharp regained consciousness."  
  
"Thank you, Jodie," she said excitedly. "I'll be right there."  
  
All four stood and were out the door in an instant.  
  
****New SGC Infirmary, (Minutes later)****  
  
"What's his condition?"  
  
"Stable and getting stronger," Jodie responded. "He said he was hungry so I gave him something to eat. He's waiting for you inside, Dr. Sanders."  
  
"Thank you, Jodie. I'll take it from here." Chandra entered the lab alone after instructing the others to wait a bit before entering. Danika decided to go get Robin while they waited.  
  
Sharp looked up at her as she entered. "Are you the one who saved my life?"  
  
"That's right, Captain, but not just me. I had some help from your crewmates." He didn't recognize her yet. That was to be expected though. He was recovering from a major procedure. Things would take time.  
  
"I owe you and them a lot more than thanks then. I don't have anything else to give however."  
  
Chandra smiled. Same old Glenn. "Your thanks will be enough. You're welcome. I'm going to look you over to see if there were no side effects, all right?"  
  
"Yeah, that's fine," he said putting the bowl of soup he was eating on the tray next to the bed.  
  
Chandra took a few minutes to look him over before drawing some blood. "I'm going to run some tests on your blood and I'll be back with the results soon. In the meantime, there are some people who would like to see you." She waved for Paris and Sam to enter. Chris and Luke has joined them at Paris' request and entered as well. Sharp smiled when he saw them coming.  
  
"About time you woke up, Captain," Corra joked to him.  
  
"Well you people are enough to wear anyone out, Luke," he chuckled back. The rest smiled in amusement.  
  
"How are you feeling, Glenn?" Paris asked.  
  
"I'm actually feeling quiet good for a guy who's apparently been in a coma for almost two weeks. Can't wait to get back on my feet and kick some butt," he smiled.  
  
"Yeah, well we should probably get you caught up on what's been happening first, Cap," Stewart quipped. "Been a lot going on while you were gone. Robin's been keeping us busy doing it too."  
  
"Speaking of Robin... where is she?" he wondered.  
  
"We sent someone to get her," Paris answered. "She'll be here soon."  
  
"You know her, Cap. Busy, busy, busy," Stewart smiled.  
  
"But it'll be nice to have you up and around and doing some work," Sam teased. "We could use the help."  
  
Glenn laughed but then the young woman who entered the room just then grabbed his attention. He smiled at first, but then saw that she wasn't smiling back. Something was wrong. She walked toward him until she was at the foot of his bed.  
  
"Hi... Glenn..." she finally got out.  
  
"I think we'll leave you two alone," Sam motioned. "It's good to see you doing better, Glenn."  
  
Sharp was quite confused and worried at both Robin's face and the sudden disappearance of everyone else, "what's going on, Robin?"  
  
Robin rolled her eyes as Sam and the other left. "They think we need to talk I guess."  
  
Sharp was really worried now, "talk? About what?"  
  
"It's a good thing you're sitting down, Glenn..."  
  
****New SGC Infirmary, (An hour later)****  
  
Sharp didn't know what to say. Other than what she had just said was impossible.  
  
"I didn't believe it at first either, Glenn," she admitted. "I'm still not sure I do... but if it's not true, why did Dr. Sanders' technique work?"  
  
"Robin... I'm telling you... I was never intimate with Riley. We weren't even together two weeks yet..." Even as he said it, he knew it didn't matter. She was right. If it weren't true, he wouldn't be alive right now. Beyond that it began to explain what he experienced while he was in the coma. If he was Robin's father...  
  
"I know. It doesn't make sense to me quiet yet either, but General Scott said she'd explain everything to us when it was time. Yes, it is greatly annoying, I know, but for now..."  
  
Sharp smiled, "For now, I have a daughter."  
  
"And I have my dad," she smiled as she teared up. Sharp pulled her into a hug to hide his own tears.  
  
Danika and Chandra stood outside the room, watching the whole interaction. They didn't want to interrupt, but time was becoming critical. They finally decided they couldn't wait any longer. They both proceeded to the side of the bed, "Captain Sharp?"  
  
He looked up to the doctor he had spoken to before. He got another feeling of familiarity that he had experienced before. His eyes then moved to the general. A woman... General Scott... Danika? And that would the doctor was... "Chandra?"  
  
Chandra and Dani smiled at him. "Good to see you again, Glenn," Dani responded.  
  
"So.. you're a general now, huh?" he smirked. "Does this mean I have to start calling you ma'am?"  
  
"Scary thought, huh, Glenn?" she smiled back wickedly. Her look turned more insightful, "yeah, well promotions are easy now a days if you understand what I mean."  
  
"I see... so... Chandra's rank is....?"  
  
Chandra gritted her teeth as she spoke, "Colonel..."  
  
Sharp cracked a wide and evil grin, "Colonel, huh?"  
  
"Don't say it, Glenn," she warned.  
  
His smiled widened, "but it makes you..."  
  
"I said don't say it," she said, more aggravated.  
  
"Can you at least give me one of the secret herbs or spices?" he asked, unable to control his laughter as he said it. Dani finally let loose the laugh she was holding back as well. Chandra meanwhile resisted the urge to smack Glenn upside the head.  
  
"It's not wise to make fun of the doctor when you're not well, Glenn," she warned. "Bad things can happen." This sent Danika into a hysterical laugh and made Glenn consider if she was serious. Chandra finally cracked an evil smile and then turned to Danika. "Can we get down to business now?"  
  
Danika did her best to get a handle on herself and get serious. It took a few moments. When she was finally able to do so, she cleared her throat and did her best to be as serious as the situation required. "Well as we told Robin, Sam and the others. We need your help."  
  
"Well it's Robin's ship. I don't know why you're talking to me."  
  
Dani shook her head, "We're not talking about the ship, Glenn. This war is going badly. One more ship isn't going to make a difference now. We need /you/, Glenn."  
  
Sharp was confused, "if you said one more ship wouldn't make a difference, how can one more man make a difference?"  
  
"Because if all goes according to plan... we'll be sending you home."  
  
****To Be Continued in "Causality"**** 


	13. Causality

Author's Note: Special Guest Star, Dr. Samantha Carter  
  
Warnings: Mild Language and Violence  
  
Causality  
****SGC Infirmary, (October 13, 2026)****  
  
Robin and Glenn sat in complete shock at what Danika had just said. "What do you mean home?" Sharp asked.  
  
"Earth. 2002. Before all of this ever happened," she confirmed.  
  
Sharp let go a disbelieving laugh, wondering if she was insane or playing a cruel joke on him. "I'm really not in the mood for this, Dani. I'm having a hard enough time grasping the fact that I have a daughter, let alone some prank about sending me back."  
  
"This is not a prank," she assured him sternly. "Now I'll need you to get dressed, Glenn and I'll need both of you in the briefing room in an hour. And then, you'll get the answers to most, if not all your questions. I'll see you in an hour." Sharp and Robin simply acknowledged her order and watched as both Chandra and Danika exited the room to go prepare.  
  
"Ok. Am I still sleeping? Is this some wacky, crazy dream?!" he asked.  
  
"Well if it is, next time ask before you drag me into it, ok?" Robin responded.  
  
Sharp smiled, "I'll do that. How much of this do you think is real?"  
  
Robin shrugged, "I don't know. It's an awful lot to take in all at once. I mean to find out that your father isn't really dead, not to mention he only a few years older than you thanks to some time tunnel. And then on top of that, you're at the headquarters of an organization you thought died several years ago, talking with people who worked with your mother and the person who delivered you as a baby?"  
  
"When you put it that way. it's worse," Sharp conceded. "But I guess it can't hurt to listen a little longer. After all they did save our butts."  
  
"Yeah," she sighed. Then she looked up at him, "Glenn. I want you to know, no matter what happens. a part of me will always think of you as the father I never had."  
  
They embraced once again, "I couldn't ask for a more wonderful child. My DNA or not, I'll love you as my own."  
  
****New SGC Briefing Room (One hour later)****  
  
Danika sat at the head of the table and watched the last few people trickle into the room. Glenn and Robin had been there for sometime, silently waiting for the explanation they had been promised. Precisely when the hour was up, Danika rose from her chair.  
  
"Thank you all for coming, especially to Captain Sharp and Commander Michaels," she greeted. "As all of you know, we're here to discuss what we consider to be our last hope for final victory in this war against the Maldorians. With the help of our scientific teams and past work done at the old SGC, we believe we've come up with an ultimate, albeit dangerous plan to finally put an end to the fighting. Most of you have heard rumors or this plan. What most of you don't know is the price for the success of this mission." Danika took a deep breath and then continued, "our last hope resides in returning Captain Glenn Sharp to his own time so he can prevent this war before it starts."  
  
The room came alive with murmurs and whispers. They'd always been instructed on matters related to time-space as black and white. Simply, you don't mess with the time line. Ever. To do so was a gross violation of the code of conduct of the SGC. Not that any of them had ever been in such a situation, but now they were. A situation that would jeopardize some of those people's very existence, whether the mission succeeded or not.  
  
"I know most of you realize the moral and ethical dilemmas we faced in making this decision. We didn't come to this decision lightly. The bottom line is however, as a race, we're fast running of out of supplies, weapons, ships and hiding places. This is our last hope to survive as a species. Before I continue, I'll open the floor to any questions or concerns you might have."  
  
All eyes in the room searched for the person who would stand up and give a dissenting opinion. The room remained silent until finally Sharp stood to voice one of his many questions, "I have something to ask. How the hell do you plan on doing this? I may not understand everything the doc told me, but I do understand that just sending me back in time doesn't fix this. You have to send me back the way I came."  
  
Dani nodded, "We're aware of this, Captain. That is what we intend to do. If there are no other questions, I'll explain how." The room remained in an uneasy silence. "Very well then." Dani touched a control and a picture of a small device appeared on the screen behind her. "This is a schematic of a device called a time inversion wave emitter. TIWE for short. Shortly after Captain Sharp was shifted in time, Riley began studying the phenomenon using data gathered from the planet and a sampling of the younger Glenn's DNA. She was able to construct this device, which was supposed to be able to mimic the effects of the time inversion wave in a controlled environment. Unfortunately, her work was interrupted by the war and she was unable to finish. The device was recovered and brought along during the evacuation of the SGC in 2012 and we've had it in our possession ever since. Our research teams have been trying to comprehend the physics behind it and make it work and recently have succeeded."  
  
"And you plan to use it on me?" Sharp interrupted.  
  
Sam shook her head, "that would only work to displace someone. In order to correct a displacement, you would have to reenter the original time-space rift and exit at the appropriate point."  
  
"Dr. Carter is right," Dani agreed. "The TIWE however gives us a baseline for testing... so that we can reopen the rift that brought you here and use it to send you back."  
  
"Forgive me if I sound skeptical, but that sounds incredibly complicated," he interjected.  
  
Sam smiled and shook her head, "it's not that bad actually. Just think of the rift as a tunnel th..."  
  
"Thanks, Sam, but I don't need another headache today," he smiled back.  
  
Sam shot him a crooked smile and a look that said she knew he wouldn't get it anyway, "yeah... sorry Glenn."  
  
Dani quickly tried to regain control over the briefing, "the point is that it's the only plan we got left. Our best strategists say the longest we can hold out is just a few more months."  
  
"Well it still doesn't sound like you think it will work," Sharp countered.  
  
"Actually," Chandra spoke up, "it already has worked."  
  
"Okay, can we cut the cryptic crap and have someone start explaining things?!" Sharp exclaimed, more than a little frustrated.  
  
"I think it's time we told you exactly what has happened in the years you've been gone, Glenn," Dani agreed. She pulled a small data crystal from her pocket. "I believe Commander Michaels has seen the beginning of this already, but it will help to begin explaining things." She placed the crystal into a circular slot and the recording began playing. Sharp watched what Jackson had shown Robin earlier. The birthday party, the obviously relationship between him and Riley and... there was something in the background. Something Glenn couldn't make out at first and something Robin had not seen.  
  
****The home of 'Major Zachary Glenn', (June 13, 2004)****  
  
"Ok, let's get one of the happy family!" exclaimed Major Natalie Jackson.  
  
"Where's our birthday girl?" the proud mommy asked.  
  
Chris came out of the background with the young girl celebrating her first year of life and handed her to the beaming father, "here she is."  
  
"There's our Mac!" Sharp smiled.  
  
"Ok, everyone smile and look right into the camera. Zach! Hold Robin up so she's in the picture," Natalie said excitedly.  
  
Sharp and Riley huddled in close and smiled, holding their baby girl. The smiles on their faces were contagious. Natalie focused the video camera for several seconds on the family. It was strange to see them smiling so much. They'd been through a lot lately. When it was found out Glenn and Riley had been seeing each other after being ordered not to, they were ready to throw them both out of the Air Force, but when they also found out Riley was pregnant, that was the last straw. They instead decided to keep them both in and simply forbid them to marry. They assigned Riley in a remote base in Alaska and Glenn was kept in isolation in a secure location under his new name, Major Zachary Glenn. Zachary was his middle name, but not many knew that, so it made a good alias. But that wouldn't keep them apart. Riley resigned and found her love living near Area 51. Soon after, their daughter was born, they continued the relationship as secretly as they could. And now they celebrated their daughter's birth. They had only invited a few friends they could trust. Ones that they knew could keep a secret. Glenn had taken care of his ever present watchdogs with a nice decoy. The guy owed him a favor and figured this was getting off easy. It was rare they could be a family this openly and they were enjoying every minute of it.  
  
"Are you gonna hog the birthday girl all to yourself?" the young mother asked.  
  
"I'm sure gonna try," Sharp smirked back at her.  
  
Riley's look turned playfully threatening, "hon, hand our child over or her father is gonna disappear again, this time permanently." She immediately cracked a smile as Sharp handed Robin over. The infant smiled up at her mother, causing Riley to absolutely beam like Sharp already was.  
  
"Battery is running low," Natalie called to them. "Let me get the backup." She switched off the camera.  
  
****New SGC Briefing Room (October 13, 2026)****  
  
"That recording is the last surviving evidence that you ever returned, Glenn. The rest was wiped out by the SGC," Danika said, removing the crystal. "And the only reason we still have this is because it was misfiled after it was confiscated."  
  
"I have just a quick question," he said, lifting his arm slightly. "Why?"  
  
"A couple of reasons, actually. One they didn't want it getting out where you'd been, so they contained the situation as much as possible and second, you informed the base commanders we'd been infiltrated by advanced Maldorian spies."  
  
"Wait," Robin interrupted. "So what you're saying is that we've already sent Glenn back to the past and he warned the SGC?"  
  
"Right," Chandra confirmed. "A few days later, we contacted the Asguard and to our surprise they offered a full alliance. Not long after, we starting incorporating Asguard technology into the SGC."  
  
"Okay..." Robin said with a look of 'why don't you get it'. "Does it bother anyone else we're still sitting here?"  
  
"You mean why the events that brought us here last time haven't been changed," Sam broke in. "That's something I'd like to know as well." She looked up at Dani.  
  
"That's the part we're not sure about," Dani confessed. "The original plan was to set a trap at Argos, where Glenn told us they would attack first. Glenn was to lead a group of the new gliders to download the destroyer schematics so that we could develop more advanced weapons to fight them. Unfortunately, we under estimated them. We lost the entire colony, the O'Neill and all hands."  
  
"So I was reactivated for that mission?" Sharp asked.  
  
"At the request of the O'Neill's captain," Chandra answered. "It took a lot of favors on his part to get it done, but he thought you were the best man for the job. We lost contact during the battle and never found out what happened to you or your team."  
  
"Ambush," he stated bluntly.  
  
"What?" Dani and Chandra asked simultaneously.  
  
"During one of my blackouts... I jumped back to that battle. I thought at first it was strange because all of the others I knew I had experienced. Anyway, I took the controls and once I realized what was going on, I tried to get out of there, but they were waiting for me. Almost as if they knew I'd be there."  
  
"That doesn't make any sense, Glenn," Dani told him. "The whole thing was classified at the highest level. There was no way anyone could have known about it in time to warn anyone."  
  
"Don't ask me, Dani," he said putting his hands up. "It's your past, but it's my future."  
  
"We can't start second guessing ourselves," Chandra interjected. "It'll only make things worse."  
  
"I beg to differ," Sharp said. "Obviously whatever plan we tried didn't work or we wouldn't be sitting here."  
  
"Well do you have a better idea, Glenn?" Dani asked defensively.  
  
"Not at the moment, but I think it's worth talking about our options before we do anything," he replied.  
  
"We've been talking about this for months now," Chandra insisted. "We've considered every option, every plan, every idea. And we believe our plan has the best chance of success."  
  
"Care to fill me in?" he asked curiously.  
  
"The crux of the plan lies in getting those ship schematics to our scientists as soon as possible," Dani began. "Now the ambush at Argos obviously didn't work, but we did come up with another option. We know Argos will be their first target, because that's where we will supposedly set up our first colony. Only this time, instead of a colony, we'll have this." Sharp watched as the image of a advance communications base lit up the screen. "We'll have the O'Neill in orbit and once they have the information, the base will transmit that information to the SGC. Then everyone will be evacuated and the O'Neill will cover the retreat."  
  
"No offense, Danika," Sharp said, not confident in her plan at all, "but what makes you think the O'Neill can last that long? And even beyond that, what's to keep them from blocking the transmission?"  
  
"We've thought of both those problems, Glenn and we're confident that both the base and the O'Neill can get the job done," Chandra answered.  
  
"With all due respect, you weren't there."  
  
"Technically you haven't been there yet either," she responded.  
  
Sharp could see he was getting no where fast and making everyone upset in the process. If he was gonna convince them, he was going to need something to back him up and a solution to take care of it. And he knew just the people to help him.  
  
"Maybe we should take a break for now," Dani finally offered. "It's been a long week for all of us in one way or another."  
  
The head around the table nodded and the bodies attached rose from the chairs. Robin and Sharp exchanged looks that communicated their need to talk and Robin then motioned for Chris, Luke and Paris to follow. Sharp on the other hand, approached Sam.  
  
"You got a moment, Sam?" he asked her quietly  
  
"Yeah, what's up, Glenn?" she answered, a bit curious.  
  
Sharp looked over his shoulder to see who was observing, "what happened to that data crystal we recovered from Beta-1? Did we ever get anything else off of that thing?"  
  
"It's still on board the Foxstar," she told him. "I was actually planning on getting it and letting the scientists here go over it. Maybe they could see something we missed."  
  
"What about what we found?" he pressed.  
  
"We found tons of information, just not anything we didn't already now, or that we could use. Ship schematics, history files, past battle plans, military propaganda,...."  
  
"Wait... past battle plans?" he asked. "Including the attack on Argos?"  
  
"Well yeah, that's why I thought it might help. If you're sure that they need more information to improve their plan, we could use this to do that."  
  
"Not yet," Sharp shook his head.  
  
"What?" Sam shook her head in confusion.  
  
"I want you to show it to me first, before they look at it," he explained.  
  
"Glenn, what are you up to?" she wanted to know.  
  
"Just trust me on this, ok?"  
  
"I don't like keeping information from them," she argued.  
  
"It won't be for long. I just want first crack at it, ok?"  
  
Sam gave Glenn a dissatisfied look. She didn't like this one bit, but she would trust him, because he'd earned it. "All right, but if we find /anything/ you'll going to tell them and then you're gonna let them take a look at it themselves, agreed?"  
  
"Agreed," he nodded.  
  
****Robin's Quarters, (a few minutes later)****  
  
"What exactly are you asking us to do?" Corra asked the Foxstar commander.  
  
"Nothing yet," Robin replied. "Glenn is doing some digging as we speak to figure this out. What I need from the three of you right now, is a commitment to back us up."  
  
"You didn't have to bring us over here to tell us that, Mac," Paris assured her. "We'll back you one hundred percent."  
  
"Absolutly," Stewart chimed in. "We didn't come all this way just to back down now. We're in this for the long haul."  
  
Corra sighed and spoke up, "am I correct in assuming that General Scott and Colonel Sanders don't know about this meeting?"  
  
"The minute we have something concrete, they'll know about it, but until then, no we don't want them involved," Robin explained. Corra sighed. "Do you have a problem with that, Luke?"  
  
"I just thought we were all on the same side," he responded.  
  
"We are," Paris broke in. "We all want to win this war, but there has to be more than just their way to do it. We're just exploring the options they refuse to explore."  
  
Corra broke eye contact and sighed, "ok... I'm in... for now."  
  
"Then it's agreed?" Robin asked.  
  
The four in the room with her nodded consent.  
  
****SGC Computer Lab, (five hours later)****  
  
Sharp rubbed his face. It'd been a while since he'd slept, but for now this was more important. Something useful was in these files. He just knew it. "What's this here?"  
  
"Just some historical documents. Propaganda really, about how them overthrew the evil alien oppressors and how they've proved all aliens are inferior. It just goes on and on and on."  
  
"Well what's next?" he asked, ignoring most of what she said.  
  
"Hold on..." she said pulling up the next files. "These are the battle plans of the original attack on Argos."  
  
"Now we're getting somewhere," Sharp said excitedly.  
  
"Except it doesn't really help us, Glenn," she explained. "Even if you could take these plans back to the past, just them being there could change things so dramatically they would become useless."  
  
"How so?" he questioned.  
  
"Think about it. Let's say for the moment that all this has happened before, like that video suggested. You came to the future, saw all this happening and went back to stop it. Obviously you would have been ready for whatever attack they had been planning at that point."  
  
"I'm not seeing where you're going, Sam."  
  
"Where I'm going is that something else must be at work here. If it was just a matter of you getting the right information to the right people, this should have been the last cycle."  
  
"Ok, ok... you've lost me... cycle?"  
  
"Have you ever heard of a causality loop, Glenn?"  
  
Sharp wrinkled his face, "uhhh... no. What's that?"  
  
"It's a theory about time travel. It states that future events can cause the events that led to the future event."  
  
Sharp could feel the headache coming back, "you wanna try that in English?"  
  
Sam smiled, "Think of it this way. Event A happens in the future causing someone or something to be sent back in time. That person or thing triggers event B, which then sets in motion a chain of events that lead to Event A and so on."  
  
"So what exactly are you saying? That I had something to do with this future?" he asked a bit taken aback.  
  
"Not you exactly," she said, trying to reassure him, "but maybe something you brought back with you, Glenn. Something that wasn't supposed to be there."  
  
"So you're saying that by bringing back these plans, I could be creating the very event I want to stop?"  
  
"I'm not saying that's what happened, but it's possible."  
  
Sharp looked back at the screen to break eye contact and suddenly noticed something odd. A part of the file that wasn't translated. "What's this here?"  
  
"We don't know. We weren't able to translate that part of the file. I even asked Paris, she couldn't figure it out," Sam shook her head. "We were actually kinda hoping that someone here would know what it was. It's almost as if it's an entirely different language."  
  
Sharp looked over the cryptic symbols as if trying to look through them and discover some long lost secret. "Ok, let them take a look at it, but I want to know the minute you find out what that is." He then quickly turned and headed toward the door.  
  
"Yes, Sir," Sam said rolling her eyes and under her breath. She picked the crystal up out of the computer and was halfway out of the room when the alarms sounded.  
  
****SGC Control Room, (minutes later)****  
  
"What's going on, Sergeant?"  
  
"Unscheduled off-world activation, General."  
  
"Which teams are off-world?" Dani asked.  
  
"All teams are present and accounted for, Ma'am," the sergeant replied.  
  
"Keep the iris closed then."  
  
Just then Sharp entered the room, followed closely by Robin and Sam. "What's going on?"  
  
"You should know the drill, Captain," Chandra turned to face him. "Bad guys try to come through the gate and the big metal iris stops them."  
  
"General, I'm recieving an IDC," the sergeant said surprised.  
  
Dani looked down at the Sergeant with a glare, "I thought you said all teams were off-world?"  
  
"They are, Ma'am," he confirmed. "It's being recognized... as SGC intelligence, Ma'am."  
  
"But that's a one time code. They wouldn't be using that unless it was an absolute emgergency," Chandra cut in.  
  
"Open the iris!" Danika ordered. The Sergeant immediately complied and the large metal cover opened to reveal the blue, swirly wormhole opening underneath. All of them held their breath waiting for someone or something to come through.  
  
They released their collective breaths when two petite girls stepped onto the ramp.  
  
Sharp smiled through the glass and made his way to the gateroom with Corra and Stewart. "Sarah! Christine! Good to see you again!"  
  
"It's good to see you too, Captain," Sarah said as Glenn hugged them both.  
  
"What brings you two here?" Sharp asked. "Danika seems to think it must be pretty important for you to risk coming here."  
  
"I'm afraid it's very serious," Christine confirmed. "We need to speak to you and General Scott right away."  
  
****SGC Briefing Room, (10 minutes later)****  
  
The briefing room that was full of personnel a few hours earlier was now occupied again, only this time the group was much smaller. Danika, Chandra and Captain Jackson, joined Sarah, Christine and Sharp to hear the information that the two young woman had thought important enough to bring in person.  
  
"I wanted to keep this meeting as small as possible given Sarah's concerns about the sensativity of the information they're carrying," Danika explained. "Captain Sharp is here at her request. I've brought Colonel Sanders and Captain Jackson as advisors on the situation. You may begin your breifing when ready, Miss Sarah."  
  
Sarah stood and moved to the front of the room. "For some time now, we've been tracking a man we believed to be dead for over a year. A man that myself, Christine and Captain Sharp are familiar with." Sarah touched a button and image appeared on the screen. Sharp shifted uneasily in his chair at what he saw.  
  
"This is Robert Harris," Sarah continued. "Or that's what the Maldorians would like us to believe. In reality, Harris died on P9T-573 early last year."  
  
"So if that's not Harris, who is he?" Jackson asked.  
  
"And a better question, what does it have to do with us?" Chandra added.  
  
Christine turned to face Sharp, "I'm sure Captain Sharp will notice that same difference we did which lead us to suspect what was going on."  
  
"No scar," he stated simply. "He's a clone."  
  
"More than just a clone," Sarah corrected. "A clone is only a duplication of the body. This... acts, talks, thinks and reasons just like the original Robert Harris in almost all respects."  
  
"Almost all?" Danika questioned.  
  
"The real Robert Harris would never have served the Maldorians," Christine explained. "While they have been able to completely replicate Harris, they did modify his personality to serve them."  
  
"So you're saying they could replicate anyone and use them to infiltrate us," Chandra deduced.  
  
"They may have something worse in mind," Sarah said touching the panel to show the next image.  
  
"I don't understand," Sharp shook his head. "I don't remember having his picture taken."  
  
"That's because it's not a picture of you, Captain," Sarah told him. "We believe the Maldorians used the information they extracted while they held you prisoner to create a replicant of you."  
  
"But why Captain Sharp?" Jackson spoke up. "Forgive me for saying so, Captain, but why wouldn't they choose someone who's actually in a leadership position here at the SGC?"  
  
Sarah looked over at Christine who looked back at her. Taking a deep breath before she spoke, she answered, "we don't believe their target is this command. Instead, they intend to send their replicant back to Captain Sharp's time."  
  
"Without Captain Sharp to bring back that information, earth will be a sitting ducks for the Maldorian attacks," Jackson concluded.  
  
"And all the things we've done to stop them over the years will never have happened," Danika added.  
  
Sharp just shook his head, "something doesn't add up."  
  
"What about it doesn't add up, Glenn?" Chandra asked, wondering what the hell was wrong with him.  
  
"You said it yourself. In a few months, this whole thing will be over. There won't be enough bases, ships or people to mount any kind of resistance. Why go to all the trouble?"  
  
"I don't see that it matters," Danika responded. "If they succeed, the past few years, and even this meeting will be pointless because it won't have happened. We have to stop them."  
  
"I can have the fleet mobilized in under five hours, Ma'am," Jackson told her.  
  
"Do it," she ordered. "I want everything we've got in orbit of P9T-573 when the Maldorians arrive. And get me a meeting with Commander Michaels. We're gonna need all the help we can get. Dismissed." Jackson nodded and was out the door. "Glenn, time for you to go home."  
  
Sharp forced a smile and sat back in his chair as he watched the others leave. They were missing something. He was sure of it. He had to see if Sam and Paris had discovered anything.  
  
****SGC, Level 14 Hallway, (Two Hours to Launch)****  
  
"Glenn!" the familiar voice called from behind him. "Where have you been? I've looked everywhere for you."  
  
Sharp turned to see the frustration on his daughter's face. "Sorry, Mac. I've been looking for Paris. Have you seen her?"  
  
"Not since you were called into that second briefing with General Scott."  
  
"Damn. We're running out of time," he sighed.  
  
"Speaking of time, we're scheduled to leave in less than two hours and I've been trying to track you down for over an hour."  
  
"I can't leave yet, Mac. There's more going on here then we're seeing. Did General Scott breif you on what Sarah and Christine told us?"  
  
"Yes," Robin nodded. "I met with her less than a half hour after you did. She wants the Foxstar to lead the defense of the planet while the science ships prepare the planet to send you back. I told her we'd help in anyway we could."  
  
Sharp nodded agreement, "that's probably best right now. Just be ready in case Sam comes up something, all right?"  
  
"Yeah, of course. Glenn... Dad..." she looked up into his eyes.  
  
"I know," he said taking her hands in his. "If this works, this could be the last time we see each other."  
  
"Worse than that," she said doing a good job of holding back tears. "I won't even remember any of this. Hell, if this works, I may not even exist in the new timeline."  
  
Sharp pulled her into a hug to hide his inability to hold in his tears any longer. "You'll always exist, Mac. No matter what happens, you'll always be my daughter. Your mom is gonna know all about you and be so proud of you. 'Cause I'm proud of you. And I love you."  
  
Robin smiled and let the tears flows. It was a goodbye, but it was more than she got the first time she lost her father. "I have to go... They're waiting for me," she slowly pulled away.  
  
Sharp just nodded his head and held her at arm's length. "Yeah, you better go then," he sniffed and then forced a smile. "You come home safe, ok?"  
  
Robin rolled her eyes like a daughter would to an overprotective father. It felt good and made Sharp laugh. "Yes, dad," she finally said in a annoyed kid-like tone. Then she smiled and kissed her father on the cheek. Sharp watched her turn and head back down the hallway until she disappeared from sight.  
  
****Abydos Bridge, (20 minutes to launch)****  
  
General Scott turned the final corner and walked through the door leading to the bridge. She had some last minute instructions for Captain Jackson before she departed for her ship.  
  
"This is quite a privledge, Ma'am," Jackson greeted her with a smile. "I think this is only the second time I've welcomed you to my bridge."  
  
"Is there someplace private we can talk, Captain?" she said getting right to the point.  
  
"Of course, Ma'am. Follow me." Jackson lead her to an empty room off the main bridge. "Will this do, Ma'am?"  
  
"It'll do just fine, Captain," she smiled. "I have new orders for you," she said handing over a folder.  
  
Jackson's face changed to one of confusion as he took the folder and began looking over the papers inside, "new orders?" He paused as he read and then looked up at Danika. "I assume this is a contingency plan, Ma'am?"  
  
"That's exactly what it is, Captain," she confirmed. "If for some reason, Captain Sharp is unable to complete his misson to warn the SGC, you are to use the anomily to send this transmission containing all the details for the Argos ambush."  
  
"They won't accept a random transmission, Ma'am," Jackson pointed out.  
  
"Of course not," she agreed. "But all it needs to do is get their attention. Steer them to the appropriate channels who help them... us... figure out the rest."  
  
"Understood, Ma'am," he snapped to attention and saluted. "You can count on me."  
  
****SGC Computer Lab, (5 minutes to launch)****  
  
"You're hovering, Glenn," Paris said beginning to become annoyed.  
  
"I know... I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "But we're just about out of time."  
  
"Yeah, well we're going as fast as we can. The minute we know something so will you."  
  
Sharp began pacing anxiously, waiting for something to happen. Sam, Corra and Stewart all joined Robin on the Foxstar. Sam as the second in command and Corra and Stewart went as glider pilots. Paris agreed to stay behind to work on decyphering what was left on the data crystal. Sharp meanwhile was left to wait while the SGC science ships prepared the planet to produce the correct time inversion wave. Waiting... Sharp hated waiting. It was right up there with dying and dentists. After a few mintues, he listened as the collective fleet of the SGC started their journey to P9T-573. They'd be observing radio silence now. He'd run out of time.  
  
"Oh my God... that's it!" Paris exclaimed.  
  
Sharp jumped at least five feet when he heard her. Regaining his composure, he rushed over to see what had gotten Paris so excited. "What's it?!"  
  
"Numbers, Glenn! They're numbers!"  
  
"What?! Paris, explain... in English please."  
  
"The symbols we weren't able to translate aren't words. They're numbers. We were looking for words and they're not," she explained.  
  
"But I saw numbers that were translated on the rest of the crystal. How come you were able to translate those and not these?"  
  
"Think about it, Glenn. We have two ways to write numbers. Using words and our arabic numerials. The numbers we translated were written out in the Maldorian language, but these here are the numeric variation," she continued.  
  
"I guess that makes sense," he finally said. "So if they are numbers, what do they mean?"  
  
"I'm not sure yet exactly, but I have a theory," he said as she began typing again. "One of the things really pecular about the files was the fact that none of them had any dates attached that we could find. If that's because they only use the numeric represenation of a date..." she trailed off for a moment and then got a huge smile on her face.  
  
"I take it that means you were right?" he asked anxiously.  
  
"Yes, they're dates. But they don't mean much to us as they are based off a foreign calender. I'll have to get with a historian to figure out the exact dates from our perspective." Paris stood and started to walk away to do just that.  
  
"How long will that take?" he blurted out.  
  
Paris stopped and turned to him, "as long as it takes, Glenn. You can resume pacing now." After a few moments, she smiled to let him know she was kidding before walking out of the room.  
  
Sharp on the other hand, took the advice to heart and began pacing again.  
  
****SGC Breifing Room, (An hour later)****  
  
Sharp hadn't expected results so soon. However, from the way Paris asked him to join her, he was under the impression, they had found something most unexpected. He walked into the room, "so what's the story?"  
  
"You're not gonna believe this, Glenn," she assured him, showing him exactly what they had found. "Apparently someone or something moved up the Maldorian timetable by quite a bit," she explained.  
  
"I'll say," Sharp shook his head. "If this is right, the attacks weren't supposed to start for almost another hundred years."  
  
"Well whatever it was, they thought it was important enough to do something about it before they were ready," she told him. "None of these plans were updated from their original version and from what we can tell, they went into battle with less than half of what they were planning. Almost as if something scared them into attacking." That's when it all came together for Sharp. His knees began to buckle and he collasped into a chair. "Glenn, what's wrong?"  
  
Sharp slowly turned his head to look up at her. "That's the last piece of the puzzle, Paris. The part we were missing."  
  
"What are you talking about?" she asked, wondering what he was babbling about.  
  
"Just listen for a moment. We've always assumed the attacks had been planned to be launched at the exact time they were launced, but if this was a rush job like these file say it was, then our entire premise for stopping this is flawed."  
  
"Glenn, start making sense, please," she urged him.  
  
"You said it, Paris. They attacked because they were afraid of being attacked. Sam told me that there was no mention of attacks against us until approximately twenty-five years ago. Now I don't think it's coincidence that it was right after we formed our alliance with the Asguard."  
  
"So you're saying that our alliance with the Asguard is what started all this?"  
  
"No... because one more thing happened before all that. The only reason we talked to the Asguard was because I warned them it was going to happen." He paused to swallow.  
  
"I was the trigger, Paris... I caused this timeline... All of this is my doing..."  
  
****To Be Concluded in "The Road to Hell"**** 


	14. The Road to Hell

Author's Note: Special Guest Star, Dr. Samantha Carter  
  
Warnings: Mild Language and Violence  
  
The Road to Hell  
  
Glenn, you don't know that, Paris argued with him.  
  
Sharp look up at Paris, right into her eyes, think about it, Paris. It's the only thing that makes sense. The Maldorians weren't ready to attack for another hundred years, they obviously were forced out of that plan. Why? Because they thought they could take us out one at a time, but when we joined forces with the Asguard, they knew their secret was out. So they stepped up their timeline and they attacked early, which is what caused all of this.  
  
And you're saying if you hadn't told the General about the threat that the alliance wouldn't have happened and they would not have attacked?  
  
At least not for another hundred years or so, he confirmed.  
  
But won't we just be delaying the problem, Glenn? I mean, if we don't know what's coming, it won't matter if it's five years or a hundred years. We'll still be caught completely offguard, Paris argued.  
  
Maybe, maybe not. All I know is that the way things are right now its bad and it can't get much worse. Who knows what will happen in those hundred years. We could make some scientific breakthrough that could turn the tables in our favor, he said, standing and pacing around the room.  
  
"Glenn, what are you planning?" Paris asked, worried by the look on his face.  
  
"I'm not planning anything," he told her, eerily calm. "In fact, I'm not gonna do a damn thing." Sharp slowly sat down and put his feet up on the table.  
  
"I don't like the way you said that," she in a more worried tone.  
  
Sharp stood again. "Threre's one easy way to fix this," he reasoned. "I stay here. If I don't go back, I can't set things in motion."  
  
"Do you have any idea what you're saying?!" Paris exclaimed. "It's not that simple, Glenn."  
  
"Why isn't it?" he said in fit of frustration. "Tell me why something can't be simple for once!"  
  
Paris stood, walked over to Glenn and stopped his pacing by standing in front of him, "because it's not and you know it."  
  
"No, I don't know," he fired back.  
  
"Do you have any idea what will happen if you don't go back?!" she continued. "I mean there would be massive consequences!"  
  
"Like what? Like impacting the timeline?! That's kinda the point, Paris!"  
  
"But how do you know it will get better, Glenn?" she questioned.  
  
"Look at what's happening around! It can't get much /worse/ here!" he said turning away from her.  
  
"Fine, then I'm getting someone who can explain it to you!" she said moving to the comm panel.  
  
"What are you doing? The ships are under radio silence, Paris."  
  
"Not for me they're not," she smiled and punched up the Foxstar.  
  
*Comm officer*, came the voice.  
  
"Put me through to Dr. Carter please," Paris replied.  
  
Glenn moved over to the comm to shut it off, but Paris swatted his hand away, "are you nuts?! They're on a mission!"  
  
"This is important. Besides, it's /your/ mission," she pointed out.  
  
*Carter here,* Sam answered the comm.  
  
"Sam, I need your help," Paris informed her. "I need you to explain what would happen if Glenn decided not to go back to his own time."  
  
*Please tell me you're kidding,* Sam said with concern in her voice.  
  
"This isn't important right now, Sam. You've just got to stop that replicant from going back," Glenn tried, hoping to end the conversation.  
  
Sam turned her full attention now to the comm and the serious situation that was developing, *Glenn, you have no idea what could happen if... *  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah... timeline crap. I'm aware, Sam," he interrupted, rolling his eyes.  
  
*I don't think you are, Glenn,* Sam immediatly responded. *We're not dealing with simple time travel. I told you that. That time disortion is of your entire life. If you don't go back, the effects will be greater than just the events after you went back.*  
  
"I don't see how," Sharp admitted.  
  
*Remember how General Scott told you that your younger self replaced you in your time? Well that means he's going through the same effects and unless we send both of you back to where you belong, he'll die too. And if he dies, the person that is you and that you are will have never have existed after five years old.*  
  
"One more time, Sam and this time in English," Glenn shook his head.  
  
*Everything you did after you were five years old will have never happened. You'll never join the Air Force, never join the SGC, you'll never take command of the SGC, never meet Riley...*  
  
"Ok, ok, I get the point!" Sharp interrupted. "But I go back, Sam. I won't be responsible causing this war."  
  
"What are you talking about, Glenn?" Sam asked, very confused. It was then Sharp realized that he hadn't explained what Paris and him had found out. He took the next few minutes to explain what they had discovered.  
  
"I see you dilemia, but not going back only makes things worse. In more ways than one," Sam started to explain.  
  
Now it was Sharp's turn to be curious, "you know something we don't?"  
  
*General Scott's backup plan,* she told him. *If they can't stop the replicant or you're prevented from going back, she's going to attempt a coded message to the team that rescued you, twenty-three years ago. It will inform them of the Maldorian's existance and mostly likely trigger event similar to those we're experiencing... with one difference. If you don't go back, it won't just be you that we'll be without. You're Robin's father, Glenn and she won't exist either unless you go back.*  
  
Sharp hadn't thought about that. Neither the possibility of a contingency plan or the fact that he would condemn his daughter to oblivion. He sighed again before replying, "if we stop the transmission... then the life of one man..." Sharp paused and then cringed as he continued, "or his daughter... they don't amount to the lives we'd be saving."  
  
Paris stood dumbfounded. "How can you say that?!" she finally exclaimed. "Can't you just go back and not say anything?!"  
  
"Oh sure," Sharp began, sarcastically, "I'll just keep my mouth shut knowing that one wrong word and I could damn us all to hell!"  
  
*Will the both of you calm down and think about this rationally for a minute?* Sam called over the comm. Sharp and Paris both just stared at each other for a few moments before turning back to the comm.  
  
"So I can't go back and I can't stay. Any other bright ideas?" Sharp asked anyone brave enough to answer.  
  
*Personally, Glenn, I think Paris has a point. I mean you can't outright warn the SGC, but if you went back and worked yourself to get them prepared...*  
  
"Sam, you know as well as I do that I'll be immediately debriefed when I get back there. Are you suggesting I lie to a superior officer?" There was silence both on the comm and in the room. "I have to do what's right to save as many lives as I can. The risk is too great to go back. I'm sure Robin would agree with me if she had this decision to make."  
  
"I'm not going to let you do this, Glenn," Paris challenged.  
  
"For crying out loud! Between you and Robin, it's Riley and Chrislyn all over again!"  
  
"I'll take that as a compliment and I'm sure Robin will too. Now, we have a job to do, Glenn, and that includes sending you back to your own time," she announced.  
  
*She's right, Glenn. Regardless of what else you decide to do, we have to send you back. We have no idea what the ramifications will be if we don't.*  
  
"And what if nothing changes?" Sharp needed to know.  
  
*Then we do this all over again until we get it right, Glenn. At least this way we know we'll get another shot if we fail.*  
  
Sharp looked back and forth between the two determined women. He had to admit, he wanted to go home so bad... but that would mean he'd has a secret he'd have to keep for the rest of his life. From everyone. Not only the military, but Riley, Chrislyn and his friends. He couldn't tell them about Robin or Paris and the strong women they would become. Or that they'd even be born. He'd always be closed off in some way to them. But what else could he do? "I still don't like this... but... I'll do it. Unless I can come up with a better way between now and then, understood?" They both nodded. "There is one more thing... You have to tell Robin everything, Sam. And she has to agree as well. This affects her just as much as it effects me. She had to understand the risks." Sam nodded one more time, before signing off the comm. Shrap turned to Paris, "I hope we're doing the right thing, Paris."  
  
"If you're anything like mom described you, then I know I can trust you to do the right thing," she smiled.  
  
Sharp gave her a puzzled look, "I thought you said Riley and Chrislyn didn't talk about me after I disappeared?"  
  
"They didn't talk about Glenn Sharp, but they did tell us both about a very special man they both missed and who meant a lot to them. I'm sure they meant you."  
  
Sharp cleared his throat uncomfortably at the complicment, "Come on... we have work to do."  
  
Paris smiled and followed him out of the room.  
  
****Foxstar Briefing Room, (An hour later)****  
  
"And Glenn's agreed to go back?"  
  
"Only if you agree as well," Sam explained to the Foxstar Captain.  
  
"I'm here trying to do that right now. Why wouldn't I agree?" Robin asked.  
  
"Because the stakes have changed. And because there is a chance you could feel the same way as Glenn. That sacraficing yourselves is the best way." Robin turned away from her. "Don't even think about it. You know that none of us are going to let you do that. I mean, forget all the timeline distortions and space-time ramifications, we're not going to just let you disappear from existance."  
  
"I don't recall it being your decision, Sam."  
  
"Maybe not, but don't expect us to sit idly by and do nothing while you and Glenn throw your lives away, especially when you don't know the outcome. You know better then him, what it could mean if you do this."  
  
"Don't lecture me about consequences, Sam," Robin scowled. "I know a hell of a lot more about consequences then you ever will. This war took my mother, both my father and my adoptive father, my husband, Aunt Chrislyn and so many other people I care about I don't have the time or the strenght to name them all."  
  
Sam stood up and walked up to her, "I think I know more than you think. I was there when Chrislyn died and then I was stranded on a deserted planet for ten years left to wonder if my friends and family were dead or alive, so don't /you/ lecture /me/."  
  
Both women stood in silence while their words sunk in. At last Robin broke the silence, "what do we need to do?"  
  
Sam looked over to her, "we need to make sure General Scott does not send that transmission and stop the replicant. Other than that, it's up to Glenn."  
  
"Get me Captain Jackson on the comm. We need to talk."  
  
****SGC Base, (Meanwhile)****  
  
"So... what's the first thing you're gonna do when you get back?" Paris asked him.  
  
"I really hadn't thought about it to be honest," he admitted.  
  
"You and Riley gonna spend some time together?"  
  
"I would hope so," he smiled. Then the smile faded.  
  
"What's wrong?" Paris questioned, seeing the frown on his face.  
  
"Nothing... just... I just can't wait to see her, but at the same time... I can't tell her about any of this."  
  
"One day you will. And when you do, she'll understand, Glenn," she assured him.  
  
"Maybe," he sighed. "I think I'm all set to go here."  
  
Paris looked over the checklist one more time. She tripled checked the coordinates and the timing that would need to be perfect for his arrival, as well as when he entered the time inversion wave. All the equipment they would need to monitor the wave was also ready. It needed to be in the correct position in order to undo the effects that brought Sharp there. "I think you're right, Glenn," she grinned. "You ready?"  
  
He sighed again, "as I'll ever be, I guess."  
  
"Don't worry. Sam and Robin know what they're doing. You'll be fine."  
  
"It's not their abilities I'm concerned about," he told her.  
  
"Just trust us, Glenn. And trust yourself," she encouraged.  
  
He nodded, "let's do it."  
  
****Foxstar Bridge, (Minutes from P9T-573)****  
  
"Have you been able to raise Captan Jackson yet?" Robin demanded.  
  
"Not yet, Ma'am. He's still observing the radio silence."  
  
"Damn it," she said under her breath. Yes it was true they were under radio silence, but you would think that after constant hails for over three hours he would get the hint. "Try him again," she ordered.  
  
"Captain," another voice said behind her.  
  
"Report," she told the young Lieutanent.  
  
"I've got mutiple sensor reading approaching the planet."  
  
"How long until Glenn is scheduled to come through the gate?" she ordered.  
  
"Two minutes, Ma'am. The science ships are taking up positions behind us to excite the atmopheric particles."  
  
The comm officer suddenly interrupted, "I have Captain Jackson for you, Ma'am."  
  
"About time!" she called. "Let me talk to him."  
  
*This is Jackson.*  
  
"I'm glad you could take time out of your busy schedule, Captain," Robin said sarcastically.  
  
"We were under radio silence, Commander," he responded dead pan.  
  
Robin rolled her eyes, "we can argue about this later. We have some more important to talk about. We can't send the General's transmission."  
  
Jackson gave Robin a look of disbelef, "Commander, I don't understand."  
  
"Just listen for a second, and I'll explain," she assured him. After a few moments, Robin concluded and waited for Jackson's responce.  
  
"I'm sorry, Commander, but I don't see anything that would convince me that we shouldn't send the transmission."  
  
"What are you talking about?!" Robin yelled. "Didn't you listen to a word I said?!"  
  
"I'll present this new information to the General and get back to you in a few minutes," he told her.  
  
"We don't ha..." but Jackson had already terminated the connection. "Get him back! NOW!"  
  
****SGC Base, (Meanwhile)****  
  
The final symbol was dialed and the gate opened in a brilliant blue flash. Sharp grabbed what equipment he could carry and made sure the others behind him were ready. Paris was right behind him carrying another piece of equipment and the two stepped up and through.  
  
****P3T-573****  
  
Sharp looked around the planet that he had left almost two years ago. The one that had stolen his life, but at the same time given him gifts that no man could even dream of having. The chance to see the effect he would have on the future. Now he knew that one man could change things with just a few words, for better or worse. Things would be different now. He would make sure of it.  
  
"Glenn, you need to set that up over there," Paris called. Sharp snapped out of it and did as she asked. He wondered how things were going on out there with Robin, praying things would be ok.  
  
****Foxstar, (Minutes later)****  
  
"How close to firing range?" Robin asked. Before the sensor officer could answer, the ship was rocked by an explosion. "Never mind!" she said frustrated. "Return fire!"  
  
****PFT Abydos, (Meanwhile)****  
  
"Take evasive manuevers! Protect those science ships!" Jackson ordered. The Abydos moved to position itself between the science ship and the Maldorians and took up a defensive stance. "Lock on to the lead ship and fire!" The cannons heated up with laser shot being expended.  
  
"Two direct hits, Sir," the tactical officer reported, but then was oddly silent for a moment. "Sir... I'm registering minimal damage," he said with a sudden fear in his voice.  
  
"That's impossible!" Jackson cried, moving over to see for himself. "We just had new Argos lasers installed!"  
  
"Yes, Sir!" he told him.  
  
"Fire again!" Jackson ordered. The officer did as he was ordered. "Anything?!"  
  
"Minimal damage... Sir, they're returning fire!"  
  
Jackson was knocked to the floor from the explosion. As he was getting up, he saw General Scott step on to the bridge, "Report," she ordered.  
  
"Heavy damage to weapons and propulsion," the tactical officer said.  
  
"They seem to have adapted to our weapons, Ma'am," Jackson reported.  
  
"Has Glenn came through the gate yet?" Danika wanted to know.  
  
Jackson looked to find out, "yes, Ma'am. It looks like they are ready to begin."  
  
"Make sure our radio stays functional. I want to be able to send that transmission as soon as the wave is open," she told him.  
  
"Ma'am, we need to talk about for a moment... in private?"  
  
Danika nodded and followed him into the briefing room, but not before Jackson put his XO in charge of the bridge.  
  
****P9T-573****  
  
"I just signaled the lead science ship. They'll start exciting the atomospherical particles in just a few seconds," Paris told Sharp.  
  
"How long until the wave is formed?" Sharp asked.  
  
"If everything goes well, it will be formed in less than ten minutes, but we need to time your entrance into the wave so you'll return to your time at almost the instant you left," Paris explained.  
  
"What happens if I'm early or late?" Sharp wondered.  
  
Paris looked up at him, "we don't know actually, but we'd rather not take any chances."  
  
"Me neither," Sharp agreed. He turned his eyes to the sky as the sky began to become very tormented. Then, in the middle of it all, a bright flash that appeared to originate from high above the planet. "Did you see that?"  
  
"See what?" Paris asked curiously.  
  
"Never mind," Sharp said, worriedly. "Just be ready for some company and hope I'm wrong."  
  
****Foxstar****  
  
"What the hell was that?!" Robin demanded to know.  
  
"Some time of shuttle, Ma'am," the sensor officer reported.  
  
"The replicant!" Robin realized. "Can we stop it?"  
  
"No, Ma'am. It out of weapons range and it's already entering the atmosphere."  
  
Another blast rocked the Foxstar knocked Robin to the floor. After helping herself back up, she ordered, "get me Jackson!"  
  
****TFC Abydos, (A few minutes later)****  
  
Jackson and his bridge crew scrambled to come up with a way to penetrate the new armor on the Maldorian ships. Meanwhile, Danika and Robin 'discussed' their next move, all the while, both ships took more and more punishment.  
  
"You're asking me to abandon our only backup plan based on a thoery neither one of you can prove," Danika argued. "Now I trust Glenn and he's a good friend, but this is bigger than just him. I can't take the risk that he's wrong. There are too many people at stake."  
  
*I understand what we're asking, General, but there are just as many people at stake if we're right,* Robin retorted.  
  
"I'm sorry, Commander," Dani said sincerely. "The risk is too great. Scott out." And with that the transmission ended just as the ship rocked from another explosion. Dani braced herself against the comm station. She took a long deep breath. "Get ready to send that transmission the minute that wave forms," she ordered.  
  
***P9T-573***  
  
The shuttle landed and Sharp waited for who or whatever was inside to exit. Paris was crouched behind him in the brush, being as quiet as she could. The doors opened and a man that looked, walked and scowled exactly like Sharp disembarked. The replicant took a few steps forward before he spotted the real Glenn Sharp moving toward him. It smiled and the two converged within arm's reach.  
  
The two circled each other for a few moments before Glenn threw the first punch, a left hook. Almost as if he was expecting it, the replicant blocked the punch and delivered a jab to the face, knocking Sharp back on his heels. It was quickly followed by a spin kick to the head, knocking Sharp to the ground. As the replicant moved in to deliver another blow, however, Sharp rolled clear and to his feet.  
  
With a suddenly swiftness, Sharp caught the next punch headed for his face and twisted it's arm before bringing his arm down hard on it's elbow. The loud snap that ensued didn't even seem to phase the replicant, who pulled his arm free and landed a strike to Sharp's abdomen.  
  
Sharp lost his breath for a moment from the force of the blow, but recovered to dodge the scissor kick that followed. He was amazed at how much a complete copy this thing was. It was like it was inside his head, seeing his thoughts. Of course that worked both ways.  
  
They were both too involved with each other to see the lightning strike behind them.  
  
****Foxstar****  
  
"Ma'am! We have confirmation that a time inversion wave has been formed," one of the bridge officers informed her.  
  
Before Robin could answer, another explosion rocked the Foxstar. That tactical officer reported grim news. "We've lost our hyperdrive capability! Damage teams have been dispatched."  
  
"Hold our position!" Robin ordered. "We need to buy Glenn a few more minutes!" The ship jolted again and beam in the ceiling broke free and came crashing down around the bridge. "Damage report!" But the bridge was silent. "I said, damage report!"  
  
The sensor officer got up off the floor and checked the pulse of the tactical officer, "Lt. Fleming is dead, Ma'am." He then got up and checked the damaged tactical display. "Decks four through six have breeches. Damage teams are sealing them. We've taken damage to all primary systems. We've lost computer weapons lock."  
  
Things were bad. Very bad. Without hyperdrive to escape and their weapons ineffective, they were sitting ducks. Robin ran up and relieved the sensor operator at tactical. If they were going down, she wanted her hand on the trigger... just like her mother did.  
  
****TFC Abydos****  
  
"We're ready to send, Ma'am, on your order," the comm officer reported. Dani hesitated. If she was right, sending this message could possibly end this war before it started, giving the human race a chance to survive. But if Glenn was right, she'd be dooming them to continue the cycle of causality and twenty-three years after the message was recieved, she might just find herself in the same position.  
  
"Ma'am," the comm officer repeated. "Awaiting your orders."  
  
"What's happening on the planet?" she finally asked.  
  
The sensor operator reported promptly, "the wave is formed and is moving toward Captain Sharp..." Then he paused for a moment. "Both of them, Ma'am."  
  
That caught Dani's attention, "the replicant?"  
  
"It looks that way, Ma'am," he responded.  
  
Captain Jackson interjected, "if he enters that rift instead of Captain Sharp..."  
  
"I am well aware, Captain," Dani assured him. Everyone on the bridge waited for the order they knew was coming. The transmission had to be sent. The crew held their collective breaths.  
  
***P9T-573***  
  
The two Glenns traded punches to the head and staggered back. The storm swelled behind them, finally enough to where they both noticed. It was do or die time. The winner would hold the fate of their side in his hands. Glenn threw a round house kick that the replicant caught, but Sharp smiled as that's exactly what he expected. As he fell to the ground, he twisted his body to swing his left leg, landing it on the side of the replicant's head.  
  
The replicant hit the ground hard and Glenn bounced up to take advantage. As the replicant got up, Glenn applied a choke hold in an attempt to incapacitate him and finish him off. The replicant struggled hard, getting in several shot to Glenn's gut and chest with his elbow. Sharp held tough, however. His thought of his wife, his daughter, his friends made the pain melt away.  
  
In the bushes, Paris watched the fight, feeling so helpless. Then suddenly something horrible occured to her. The timing for this had to be perfect. If Sharp was too early or too late, he could be thrown even farther out of sync with his time. But what could she do? She didn't have any weapons and if she got involved in the fight, it could make things worse.  
  
The hits intensified at first, but then slowed and got weaker. Sharp's hold got tighter, cutting off the air flow as he did so. Then with a quick jerk, the replicant's neck was broken and it was all over.  
  
Sharp let the lifeless corpse fall to the ground. He had little time. Suddenly he saw Paris come out of hiding, "Glenn you have to go now!"  
  
Sharp got the hint and made a mad dash for the wave behind him. As he did, Paris finally thought to look at the time read out on the portable console they'd brought along. Glenn was still too far away as the countdown hit zero.  
  
***Foxstar***  
  
The bridge was a mess and most of the crew were dead. Robin's tenure at tactical had been a successful one so far. She'd managed to keep enough ship occupied that the Abydos was able to pull back and regroup to figure out a way to penetrate the Maldorian armor. Things couldn't get much worse, Robin knew, but then, things got worse.  
  
"Commander! One of the ships is targetting the planet!"  
  
"Where's Glenn?" she yelled back.  
  
"He's not through yet. If we don't do something, he's a sitting duck!"  
  
They had come too far to fail now. Robin knew that no matter what happeded, they weren't getting out of this. She'd lost her mother because she had died to protect her. She summoned all that strength and made the decision. Her father needed her. "Move the ship between us and the planet!"  
  
"Ma'am?!"  
  
"DO IT!" she ordered.  
  
***TFC Abydos***  
  
"Ma'am, it now or never!" the comm officer pushed Dani. She took an extra spilt second to consider the situation. The Foxstar was crippled but moving to protect Paris and Glenn, Glenn was now late entering the rift and they were in a hopeless battle. Everything made sense to give the order. Suddenly, however, Jackson came up behind her and she turned to face him.  
  
"Trust him, General," he told her. "I can't tell you why, but you need to trust him."  
  
"Stand down," she ordered, looking right at Jackson.  
  
"Ma'am?" the comm officer said in disbelef.  
  
"You heard me," she said snapping her head back to look at him.  
  
The officer, obviously shocked complyed.  
  
***P9T-573***  
  
Paris watched as the timer reached two minutes past the scheduled entrance time. She remembered when she asked Sam what could happen if he didn't enter at the right time and Sam had to admit she didn't really know. Paris only hoped the time difference was small enough so things would not turn disasterous. And Paris prayed.  
  
The Abydos ordered the retreat.  
  
The Foxstar braced for impact.  
  
The Maldorian battleship fired at the planet.  
  
And Glenn at last lept into the rift.  
  
***The rift***  
  
Sharp picked himself off the ground and looked around into the blackness that surrounded him. Where was he now?!  
  
"Welcome back," a raspy voice said. Sharp turned to see an old man come out of the darkness.  
  
"Who are you?" he demanded.  
  
"You don't remember me?" the man smiled. "But then again, you're not supposed to. If you did, that could cause some interesting consequences."  
  
"Start talking old man," Sharp shot back. Too much was at stake to be pussyfooting around.  
  
"Is that any man to talk to an old man? When you get to be me you won't appreciate it, I guarantee that."  
  
Sharp knew there was something about this man he recognized, but he couldn't put his finger on it. "I... I know you... don't I?"  
  
"You should," the man replied. "I'm you. Fifty years older."  
  
Ordinarily Sharp wouldn't have believed it, but he knew it was true. He recognized him somehow. "We've met before?"  
  
"One your first trip through. You don't remember because all memories of this place are erased when you leave," he explained.  
  
"But that's impossible," Sharp told him. "I was killed a few years after I came back."  
  
"You still don't get it, do you?" the old Sharp chuckled. "In this place, time and space do not exist. Any and all things that can exist, exist here. All things that have and could happen are realized here. I'm you from a place where you lived to be a grouchy old man," he smiled at Glenn's confused expression. "Don't worry. One day you'll understand. At least I think so anyway."  
  
"So you're saying I changed things? I mean, if you're alive then things must have changed right?!"  
  
"Not necessarily," he told him. "You still don't understand. But you don't have to. By the time you leave here you won't remember anyway."  
  
"Don't mess with me old man," Sharp said getting anger. "I need to know! Did I fix things?!"  
  
"Did you fix things?!" the old Sharp said, frustrated by his younger self's arrogance. "Are you so full of yourself to believe that everything that happened was because of you? That one decision that you make or not make can 'fix things' as you put it? Glenn, life and reality can be altered by a single decision, but it can't be control by it. You want to know if you avoid the war, if the SGC survives... and if Riley, Robin, and Chrislyn live. Is that what you want?"  
  
"Yes..." he admitted. "You have to tell me!"  
  
"I can't tell you what I don't know, Glenn. All I know is what happened to me, but that's no guarantee that what will happen. Yes, Glenn you changed things, but it's not as easy as better or worse. Things will change. That is all that can be said. If you save Riley and Chrislyn, if you and Riley have a daughter, if you live to be the old man you see here, is that better? For you, maybe, but what about everyone else. What if do all that, but hundreds or thousands or other die that might have lived?"  
  
"I..."  
  
"You didn't think about that, did you?" he scolded him. "I know, I was you once, remember?"  
  
"I need to know," he practically begged.  
  
The old man slowly looked away, but then relented, "you won't like it."  
  
"I /have/ to know."  
  
The old Sharp took a deep breath, "Chrislyn's disease gets out of control. She dies giving birth to a baby girl. Matthew named her Paris to fulfill her last request. The SGC and earth enter the war between the Maldorian and the Asguard in the year 2035 and their combined forces force a cease fire after only a year of fighting. Riley and I married and had two children, including Robin, who I raised alone after Riley died of cancer."  
  
Sharp stood in shock as he listened. He couldn't believe he could have been so wrong. "So are you saying that no matter what I do, I'll lose them?"  
  
"No, I'm saying that one choice is not enough to protect them. It's a constant struggled to keep what you love. You'll learn this in time," the old Sharp explained. "But for now, it's time for you to go home."  
  
"But there's so much more I need to know!" Sharp argued. "If you told me what happened..."  
  
"You wouldn't remember it when you left and even if you did, knowing the future does not help, Glenn. You of all people should understand that. Now go. You have a life to live and a future to write." With that, the man left as quickly as he had come.  
  
Sharp looked around again. "Wait! How do I get back?" As he said the words, however, a brillant flash of light engulfed him.  
  
***P9T-573, (September 29, 2002)***  
  
Riley held tightly the young Glenn who had fallen unconscious earlier in the day. He was dying and bringing him back to this planet was the only thing they could think of to save him. The answer had to be here.  
  
"Riley, look!" Chrislyn yelled. Riley turned to see the wave form on the horizon. Instinctively she walked toward it. "Riley! Wait!"  
  
The walk turned into a jog and the jog into a run. She saw him! It was Glenn! He was reaching for her. Or... for the boy? She charged the rift, arms streatched out. Sharp took the boy with one hand and Riley's hand with the other. With a love filled pull, Riley freed him from the rift. The boy disappeared, returned to his own time and now, Sharp laid on the ground, unconscious once more.  
  
Riley moved to see if he was ok. "Glenn? Glenn wake up! Talk to me!"  
  
Chrislyn finally caught up to them and joined in seeing if Glenn was ok. "Glenn! Are you ok?"  
  
Sharp slowly opened his eye. "Riley?"  
  
"Glenn," Riley smiled, forgetting all semblence of military professionalism. "Oh my God, you're back! Where have you been the last two days?!"  
  
Two days?! Sharp tried to shake off the cobwebs, "two years... I'm finally home..."  
  
"Two years?" Riley asked.  
  
Sharp looked up at her and smiled., "never mind. Just please, let's go home, Riley."  
  
"Yes, please," Chrislyn agreed.  
  
Riley helped him to his feet. The three made their way back to the gate in silence. There was just so much, that Sharp didn't know where to begin and Riley and Chrislyn, despite all their questions could see he was in no shape to explain. They were just glad to have him back and Glenn was glad to be back.  
  
Somehow, however, he knew in his heart, this was only the beginning. Their future had not yet been written and he wanted to do his part to make it a good one.  
  
Riley dialed home and the three stepped through together... and home.  
  
The End  
  
(An epilouge will follow) 


	15. Character Profiles

**Character Descriptions**

  


Author's Note: The will always be replaced by the latest chapter and then reloaded with any changes. I have separated the descriptions by chapter and have left plenty of spoiler space, so none of the story will be spoiled if read the descriptions associated with each chapter. Profiles marked with an asterisk are taken from the Stargate: The Next Generation role play game

  


Chapter one characters:

  


Name: Captain Glenn Sharp*

Age: 28

Hair: Short blond

Eyes: Blue

Height: 6' 0''

Weight: 180 lbs

Physical Description: Medium build with no distinguishing marks.

Position: Commander, SG-12, Temporary leader, SG-1

  


Name: Captain Riley Fox*

Age: 23

Hair: Blond

Eyes: Green

Height: 5' 7''

Weight: Unknown

Physical Description: Thin and athletic. No known distinguishing marks

Position: Member of SG-1

  


Name: Dr. Chrislyn Star*

Age: 20

Hair: Medium length, curly blond

Eyes: Blue-green

Height: 5' 5''

Weight: Unknown

Physical Description: Light skin. No known distinguishing marks

Position: Linguist, SG-1

  


Name: Lt. Danika Scott*

Age: 24

Hair: Shoulder length Brown

Eyes: Green

Height: 5' 8''

Weight: 138 lbs

Physical Description: Tan skin. No known distinguishing marks

Position: Botanist, SG-1

  


Name: Lt. Chandra Sanders, PhD*

Age: 23

Hair: Dark Brown

Eyes: Blue

Height: 5' 5''

Weight: Unknown

Physical Description: No known distinguishing marks

Position: Medical doctor, SG-1

  


Name: Robert Harris

Age: 35

Hair: Black

Eyes: Brown

Height: 5' 11''

Weight: 155 lbs

Physical Description: Thin with a small build. Has a scar across his right cheek from a dagger cut.

Position: Leader of the rebels on P9T-573

  


Name: Sarah

Age: 16

Hair: Long Dark Brown

Eyes: Blue

Height: 5' 7''

Weight: 100 lbs

Physical Description: Petite build

Position: Member of the P9T-573 Rebels

  


End of Chapter one profiles

  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


Chapter two characters:

  


Name: John Davenport

Age: 18

Hair: Short Black

Eyes: Blue

Height: 6' 0''

Weight: 150 lbs

Physical Description: Thin but with a medium build. No known distinguishing marks

Position: Member of the P9T-573 Rebels

  


Name: Luke Corra

Age: 17

Hair: Short Brown

Eyes: Brown

Height: 5' 10''

Weight: 155 lbs

Physical Description: Small build. Light brown birthmark about an inch wide on the back of his right hand.

Position: Member of the P9T-573 Rebels

  


Name: Paul Grissom

Age: 18

Hair: Short Black

Eyes: Hazel

Height: 5' 11''

Weight: 140 lbs

Physical Description: Small to Medium Build. No known distinguishing marks.

Position: Member of the P9T-573 Rebels

  


Name: Chris Stewart

Age: 16

Hair: Short Blond

Eyes: Green

Height: 5' 10''

Weight: 140 lbs

Physical Description: Very small build. No known distinguishing marks.

Position: Member of the P9T-573 Rebels

  


Name: Christine

Age: 16

Hair: Shoulder length Brown

Eyes: Green

Height: 5' 6''

Weight: 95 lbs

Physical Description: Petite Build. No known distinguishing marks.

Position: Member of the P9T-573 Rebels

  


End of Chapter two profiles

  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


Chapter three characters

  


Character Update: Captain Glenn Sharp

New position: Last man on earth.

  


End of Chapter three profiles

  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


Chapter four profiles

  


Name: Homeguard

Age: Unknown

Hair: Short black

Eyes: Brown

Height: 6' 2''

Weight: Unknown

Physical Description: Average build, a little portly.

Position: Unknown

  


Character Update: Robert Harris

New Status: Deceased

  


Character Update: Captain Glenn Sharp

New Position: Leader of the 'New SG-12'

  


Character Update: John Davenport, Paul Grissom, Chris Stewart, Luke Corra, Sarah, Christine

New Position: Member of the 'New SG-12'

  


End of Chapter four profiles

  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


Chapter five profiles

  


Name: Paris Orion

Age: 7

Hair: Long Blond

Eyes: Blue

Height: 3' 10''

Weight: 40 lbs

Physical Description: Light skin, petite. Small scar on her hand from a cut.

Position: Resident child genius

  


Name: Major Tim McKenney

Position: Commander in charge of SGC presence, Orion Star Space Station

  


Name: Captain Johnathan Tainn

Position: Member of the SGC presence at Orion Star Space Station

  


Character Update: Dr. Chrislyn Star

New Name: Dr. Chrislyn Orion

New Age: 33

New Position: Head Researcher and Administrator, Orion Star Space Station

  


Character Update: Sarah, Christine

New Position: Member of the SGC Field Intelligence Team

  


End of Chapter five profiles

  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


Chapter Six Profiles

  


Name: Dr. Samantha Carter

Age: Mid 50's

Hair: Short Graying Blond

Eyes: Blue

Height: 5' 9''

Weight: Unknown

Physical Description: No known distinguishing marks

Position: Newest Member of 'SG-12'

  


Name: Robin Michaels

Age: 22

Hair: Long Blond

Eyes: Green

Height: 5' 7''

Weight: Unknown

Physical Description: Thin and athletic. No known distinguishing marks

Position: Rebel Base Commander

  


Character Update: Glenn Sharp

New Physical Feature: A 3'' scar from the butt of a rifle underneath his chin

  


Character Update: Paris Orion

New Age: 17

New Height: 5' 4''

New Weight: 105 lbs

New Position: Member of the Human Resistance

  


End Chapter Six Profiles

  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


Chapter Seven Profiles

  


  


  


End Chapter Seven Profiles

  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


Chapter Eight Profiles

  


Character Update: Glenn Sharp

New Physical Description: Missing Right Eye

  


End Chapter Eight Profiles

  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


Chapter Nine Profiles

  


Character Update: Paul Grissom

New Status: Deceased

  


Character Update: John Davenport

New Status: Deceased

  


Character Update: Johnathan Tainn

New Status: Deceased

  


End Chapter Nine Profiles

  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


Chapter Ten Profiles

  


Character Update: Riley Fox

New Rank: Colonel

New Age: 40

New Position: Commander of Glider Squadrons, TFC Victory

  


End Chapter Ten Profiles

  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


Chapter Eleven Profiles

  


No Significant Character Additions or Updates

  


End Chapter Eleven Profiles

  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


Chapter Twelve Profiles

  


Name: Captain Landon Jackson

Age: 23

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Blue

Height: 5' 10''

Weight: 170

Physical Description: Thin build.

New Position: Captain of the Abydos

  


End Chapter Twelve Profiles

  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


Chapter Thirteen Profiles

  


No Significant Character Additions or Updates

  


End Chapter Thirteen Profiles

  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


  


Chapter Fourteen Profiles

  


No Significant Character Additions or Updates

  


End Chapter Fourteen Profiles


End file.
